Page 3 - January 2022 BSTTW Community News
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3                                                               BSTTW COMMUNITY NEWS

            CONTINUED From Page 2 “STATS”                               •96% of all homes in the United States have
                                                                        had some form of fire or smoke-related
             Economic Loss Due to House Fire Damages                    damage.

           From national databases within government                    •According to Stanford Children’s Hospital, of
           entities such as the U.S. Fire Administration and            the children hospitalized for burns, 20% of
           NFPA, and the Insurance Information Institute:               children under age 4 are treated for contact
                                                                        burns.
                  •House fires cause nearly 12 billion
                  dollars in damage each year.
                                                                                   Fire Safety Tips
                  •A building fire in a commercial kitchen
                  can cost $23,000 in damages.
                                                                 Even one death due to a house fire is too many.
                  •Between 2013 and 2017, house fires            Review these fire safety tips and install the proper fire
                  cost Americans $6.5 billion every year.        prevention measures in your house. If you’d like more
                                                                 information, the National Safety Council has
                  •Fire losses grew from $13 billion to $28      additional details on how to keep your home safe.
                  billion in nine years (2000 - 2009).
                                                                        •If you use space heaters or any other
                  •Every year $11.1 billion is lost to                  portable heaters, be sure to keep these
                  property damage caused by home fires.
                                                                        heaters at least 3 feet away from any
                  •Christmas tree fires cause approximately             flammable objects, such as blankets or
                  $17.5-million in damages annually.                    curtains.

                  •Most fires that started as a candle fire as          •Space heaters should also be kept on tile or
                  a heat source occur on Christmas,                     ceramic flooring — away from combustible
                  Christmas eve and New Year’s Day.                     surfaces such as carpet or a rug.
                                                                        •Consider purchasing a space heater that
                     What Causes House Fires?                           automatically shuts off in the event it’s tipped
                                                                        over.
           The following data comes from the U.S. Fire
           Administration, National Fire Protection                     •Be sure to extinguish the embers in a
           Association (NFPA), FEMA, and Ready.gov:                     fireplace or the flame of a candle when you
                                                                        leave the room.
                  •The top three causes of residential fires            •Install a fire alarm in every room and every
                  are cooking (50% of all fires), heating
                  equipment (12.5%), and electrical                     floor of your home. Install a carbon monoxide
                  malfunction (6.3%).                                   detector on every floor of your home. Test all
                                                                        devices yearly and replace batteries as
                  •A house fire happens every 87 seconds.               needed.
                  •Over 22% of non-residential fires are                •If the unthinkable happens and you do find
                  electrical fires, caused by short circuits or         yourself in a house fire, remember:
                  wiring problems.
                                                                               •“Stop, drop, and roll” if your clothing is
                  •Thanksgiving is the peak day for cooking                    on fire.
                  fires.                                                       •Crawl low to the floor and keep your
                                                                               airways covered.
                  •NFPA reports that close to 30% of fires                     •Touch door handles to test if they’re
                  start in homes.                                              hot before opening the door.

                  •Each year, over 18,000 fires are started             •To open and use a fire extinguisher, use the
                  due to fireworks.                                     following acronym:PASS

                  •In less than five minutes, the heat from a                  •Pull the pin
                  house fire can reach over 1100 degrees                       •Aim low at the base of the fire
                  Fahrenheit.                                                  •Squeeze the handle slowly
                                                                               •Sweep the nozzle side to side
                  •45% of the home fires in the fall months
                  when most Americans use their fireplaces        CONTINUED On Page 4 “STATS”
                  to keep warm.
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