Here are 5 simple things you can do
- Have an address number properly posted so we can find you.
- Make sure emergency vehicles can get down your driveway.
- Have a working smoke alarm on every level of your home.
- Safe guard your home from wildland fires.
- Make sure every in your home know these important safety rules.
Can We Find You?
When you call 9-1-1, you need help fast! And, waiting for help to arrive can seem like hours instead of minutes. Please keep in mind, Fire and Medical personnel are dispatched to street addresses, not the name of the residence.
Example: 65 Mt. Baker Road.
Responders Need Your help!
Less than 50% of all residences on Orcas Island have effective address numbers. These are a few things you can do:
- Make sure your address is visible from the road.
- Sign should be above brush and grass.
- It should be obvious. Reflective materials are preferred so that numbers can be seen at night.
- Easy to read numbers are on your residence are helpful.
- If you have a long driveway, post numbers at the road. Numbers on a mailbox are effective only in your mailbox is located at your driveway.
- If there are multiple buildings, indicate the residence with house numbers.
Can We Get There?
Our fire and medical vehicles are state of the art, but – emergency vehicles are large and heavy vehicles.
Make sure we can access your home:
- There must be 12 feet by 12 feet of clearance for apparatus to gain access.
- Overhanging trees and branches or rock outcroppings may damage or even prevent an engine from getting to your home.
- Other things that may prevent help from arriving include tight turns, steep grades, loose surface, culverts (fire engines are very heavy), limited access at the residence (can we turn around?)
If you have questions about access, please contact Max Jones at maxj@orcasfire.org or call 376-2331.
Smoke Alarms Save Lives!
• Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of your home and in or near each bedroom. Test your smoke alarm once a month. Give it a good cleaning to insure dust or cobwebs are not interfering with sensors.
• Replace the battery at least once a year. Never remove or borrow batteries for other uses.
• Replace your smoke alarm every 10 years. They DO wear out!
Points for Purchase - When buying a smoke or/and carbon monoxide alarm, check for the following:
• A seal of approval from a qualified, independent testing laboratory.
• Manual reset button and test button.
• Alarm that sounds loud enough for everyone to hear.
• Malfunction signal to let you know when sensor or batteries are weak.
• Battery sensor pack on battery-operated CO models that lasts two years.
• A manufacturer’s warranty of at least 5 years.
Fire Outside the Home
How to call in a report of smoke
If you see smoke that you think may be from a wildland fire, call 911 and report it. Know the location, or give a good reference point. This is particularly important if the smoke is rising in a remote area. If possible, give a call back number so that the fire department can contact you for more information if needed.
Protect your home from WILDLAND FIRE!
Brush and forest fire season has arrived. With it the growing possibility of danger to your residence, property and life. Your home could be saved by taking simple precautions BEFORE wildland fire can strike
A 30 foot minimum non-combustible fire break or defensible space is recommended around your home.
• Clean potential combustibles like leaves and fir needles from your roof and gutters.
• Move flammable like firewood and fuel containers away from buildings.
• Trim trees, branches and growth away from your roof.
• Remove leaves, dead limbs, twigs and dried grass from around your home.
Insure good access for emergency vehicles by removing overhanging trees/branches from driveway and keep turn-arounds or access roads clear.
Have a least 2 pre-planned escape routes to safety. Many residences have only one road in and out, which can become blocked by fire, falling debris or other vehicles. Plan and maintain a second way out. This may be a gate through a fiend fence, access over a ditch to the mail road or a well-marked path. Keep in mind you that you may be on foot!
Make sure firefighters can find you! Have your address posted properly where responding personnel will see it, even at night!
Important Fire Safety Rules for Everyone!
•
Have a plan. Know two ways out of your home
and have a meeting place outside. Make sure everyone know
what to do and how to get out if there is a fire in your
home.
• Make sure you have a
working smoke alarm on every level of your home.
• If there is a fire in your home –
get out and stay out! Never go back into a burning
building. Go to a safe place and call for help.
•
Know your address! In the event of an emergency,
you may not be calling from your own phone. Make sure your
address is properly posted where emergency responders will
see it, even in the dark.
•
Never leave matches, lighters or open flame
within reach of
children.
•
Do not leave open flame or space heaters
unattended.
Put out the flame and turn off the heater before you leave
the room.
•
Install fire extinguishers in your home and car. Learn how
to use them.
• If your clothing
catches fire, stop, drop and roll.
• When using a campfire,
never leave it unattended. Burn only natural vegetation.
Put it completely out before you leave. Many wildland fires
are started from abandoned campfires. Stir water into the
coals and ashes until it is out cold. Check it with your
bare hand to make sure it is out.