Fire Safety Week: The Importance Of Smoke Detectors And Escape Plans

This week is National Fire Prevention Week, a time to draw attention to preparing for a fire in your home. This year's theme is "Smoke Alarms: Make Them Work For You."

Andy Little with the Tulsa Fire Department stopped by the station to talk to LeAnne about fire safety.

LeAnne: I know every time people are like, "She talks about smoke detectors all the time," but I don’t think we can talk about them enough. We forget to change the batteries or think, "Oh, I have one good one, and that’s all I need."

Andy: You can’t be more right. The good news about the batteries is that all the new smoke alarms we install have 10-year batteries. In the past, people would take them out, put them in remote controls, or remove them when cooking, but that’s no longer an option. We’re excited about that.

LeAnne: What if people don’t have one, need one, or can’t afford one?

Andy: One of our main missions is to make sure all Tulsans have an operational smoke detector. They can call our headquarters at 918-596-9422 to request one, and we’ll set up a convenient time to install it for free.

LeAnne: This week is really important to remind folks to have a plan in place, especially if you have a two-story home or multiple areas where kids are. Maybe your room is on one side, and the kids' rooms are on the other. Where should smoke detectors be placed in the house?

Andy: The National Fire Protection Agency recommends placing one inside each living area, each bedroom, outside of each bedroom, and on every level of your home, typically in the hallway. Most people install them outside the bedrooms, but the key is every level of the home. Three out of five house fire fatalities each year occur where there’s no working smoke alarm.

LeAnne: Another important conversation is about having two ways to escape.

Andy: Absolutely. It’s important to talk with your children about how to escape if there’s a fire. They need to know what the alarm sounds like. Push the button, let them hear it, and tell them, "If you hear this, there’s a problem; we need to enact our plan." The plan can’t just be something you talk about—it’s something you need to walk through. If you have a multi-story home, they need to know ways to get out of their room if they can’t exit through the door. You can buy life stairs that mount on the inside and go outside. Not many people have them, but they’re a good idea. Kids should also practice opening windows and know how hard it can be and how to use the latch. And it's also important to find a safe place outside to meet and let those children know that well, first of all, all their toys, all those things are not important. The only thing that's important are the lives of our loved ones. So go to that safe place and stay there.

LeAnne: That could be like a tree, the mailbox. But you also want to have that conversation. There will be lots of in lots of trucks that will be around the house. There will be hoses you want to kind of explain to them. This is what it might look like.

Andy: Yeah, we want to find a place that is familiar and safe feeling to them, but we want to keep them away from the street because there will be fire engines responding to fight those fires. And we don't want to create a danger while we're coming to remove a danger.

LeAnne: Another thing—get low and go. Yesterday, you mentioned how people often stand up, but that’s where the smoke is.

Andy: Exactly. When a fire happens, the hot air and smoke rise to the ceiling and gradually come down. The safest place is low to the ground—it’s where the air is cooler and easier to breathe. Teach your kids to get low and get out. Also, remember to close bedroom doors before sleeping. We say, "Close before you doze." If the door is closed, it buys time to think through the plan. Feel the door—if it’s hot, use the second option, like going out the window.

LeAnne: Can you talk about the task force and how firefighters are helping with the hurricane?

Andy: Sure. I just spoke with OKTF1 project manager Matt Bell. He said the team left this morning and should be home tomorrow around mid-afternoon. He’s heading to Florida to scout for the next deployment. We have another team leaving at the end of the week to help. This has been a tough deployment—one of the most important and influential for OKTF1. They had almost no resources other than what they brought with them—no showers, restrooms, or places to sleep. They were basically rough camping. But watching the community come together was humbling. People used personal heavy equipment to cut roads for us, making access possible. It made a lasting impact on our team, and we hope we did some good while we were there.

LeAnne: I’m sure you did. So, how are firefighters chosen for this task force?

Andy: OKTF1 isn’t just Tulsa Fire. We have members from Verdigris Fire, Broken Arrow Fire, Tulsa Police, and other organizations. They submit a request to join, and then go through a lot of additional training to be competent for these deployments.