Think Fire Safety When Buying Gifts
Date: December 14
Title: Jeff Hutcheson: Think Fire Safety When Buying Gifts
Source: The Daily Nonpareil
Jeff Hutcheson is the fire marshall for the Council Bluffs Fire Department
It's that time of year again, time for my annual fire safety and Emergency Medical System gift-buying guide. Following is my short list of suggested gift items for those hard-to-shop-for people on your shopping list.
A new product available this year is a spray-on fire retardant for real Christmas trees. TreeSafe, available directly from TreeSafe, is an environmentally-safe, non-toxic, non-corrosive and child and pet safe product. When used as directed, TreeSafe is a proven safe and effective flame retardant for real Christmas trees and wreaths. TreeSafe costs $11.95 for a single bottle which is enough to treat one 6- to 7-foot tree. Their Web address is www.treesafe.com.
As always, no holiday shopping list is complete without a smoke detector. No home or apartment should be without at least one of these little life-saving devices. Fire prevention educators often compare having a smoke detector mounted to the wall or ceiling to having a giant nose constantly sniffing the air to determine if there is smoke present. These devices can be purchased for as little as $5 and in most cases, batteries ARE included. Also available now are smoke detectors with a 10-year lithium battery so yearly battery replacement is not necessary, just replace the entire detector every 10 years.
Smoke detectors are available at any home, hardware or department store. There are even smoke detectors manufactured to look like a Christmas tree ornament and designed to be hung on the family Christmas tree each season. Another fire safety device every home should have is a multi-purpose fire extinguisher. Fire extinguishers are available in several convenient sizes ranging from aerosol-can size to large commercial sizes.
Two important things to remember when purchasing a fire extinguisher are the type and the size. The best all-around fire extinguisher is a small 2.5- to 5-pound ABC model. This type extinguisher can be used on almost any fire a home owner, camper or boater will encounter. Please refer to the instructions included with the extinguisher for placement and operation of the extinguisher. Fire extinguishers can be purchased for as little as $10. If you have any questions about fire extinguishers, please contact your local fire department for advice.
Next on the list of safety devices no home should be without is a good quality, dependable flashlight. In fact, there should be a small flashlight located in bedrooms and near exits to be used in case of any type of emergency. If your smoke detector should alert you to a fire in your home, having a flashlight available is comforting as you make your way out of the house. A good alternative to a standard flashlight is plug-in rechargeable lantern/emergency-light combination. These flashlights remain plugged in to a standard electrical receptacle so there is always a complete charge in them. They also feature the ability to automatically turn themselves on in the event of a power failure, providing enough light to allow you to see your way around the room.
One can purchase a flashlight for from $2 to $3 to more than $100, depending upon the construction and intended use. One last gift to consider on the fire-safety side is a portable escape ladder if sleeping areas are not on the ground floor. These small ladders are often kept rolled up in a closet or under a bed if the ground is more than a few feet below the bedroom window. In the event of a fire and discovering that leaving through the door is not possible, these ladders are simply hooked over the window sill and unrolled, allowing one to climb safely down and out. Prices for portable escape ladders range from about $35 to $65, which is still a small investment for a potentially life-saving device.
On the emergency medical side of the gift-giving spectrum are several items. One excellent gift is a small first-aid kit containing a few simple items such as adhesive bandages of varying size, a small tube of antibiotic ointment, some rolled bandages, medical tape (for securing bandages), non-prescription pain reliever, bandage scissors and a small first-aid guide booklet. More elaborate kits are available with many more items, but even a small simple kit is better than nothing. And, if you have campers or boaters on your shopping list, there are first aid kits available designed especially for the type of emergencies they are most likely to encounter.