Public Safety Rec Center 18–19

Fire Prevention Week 2021 Expect the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Today’s households have a great advantage over our grandparents when it comes to fire safety. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms provide peace of mind that we will be warned about these types of problems and have time to react. With the theme of Fire Prevention Week—“Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety”—the Cedar Falls Fire Division wants your family to understand the difference between a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm.

A smoke alarm senses smoke and makes a “beep, beep, beep” sound; between each set of three beeps is a slight pause. This indicates there is either a fire or smoke in the home—get out and call 911. If you hear a single beep every 30 or 60 seconds the battery needs to be replaced. If the smoke alarm chirps after you replace the battery, it is time to replace the smoke alarm.

Carbon monoxide alarms notify you of an invisible deadly gas. If your carbon monoxide alarm makes four loud beeps, it means carbon monoxide may be in your home. Go outside, call 911, and stay out of the home until assistance arrives. As with smoke alarms, if you hear a chirp every 30 or 60 seconds the battery needs to be replaced. If you hear chirping after you replace the battery, it is time to replace the carbon monoxide alarm.

Make sure your family members know the different sounds these two alarms make and teach them how to react properly. Discuss your outside meeting place, along with the steps to take in response to these alarms. Having a family disaster plan has never been more apparent than in today’s changing world. Some simple preparation can make a difference for you family and bring some peace of mind. Cedar Falls Public Safety recommends you do the following before a disaster:

• Have a list of emergency contacts (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) in your cell phone and near your home phone.

• Agree on a family meeting place, both in your neighborhood and out of town, in case you cannot get in touch or are unable to go home, for example: City Hall, the Public

Safety building, or your neighborhood school. (This is different than your meeting place during a fire.)

• Program “I.C.E.” (in case of emergency) numbers into your phone and family members’ phones. If someone is injured, emergency personnel can use these numbers to notify family and friends.

• Prepare a contact sheet for your family with names, addresses and phone numbers of important contacts. Include an out-of-town contact for family members to get in touch with when they are unable to contact other family members. Often, during disasters, it’s easier to make long-distance calls than local calls.

• Create a contact card for each member of the family. Remember if a cell phone is not working a written card can help everyone find important numbers. Keep the card in a purse, wallet or child’s backpack. Include an emergency contact name and number, an out-of-town contact name and number, a neighborhood meeting place, and any other important information.

• Be sure every family member has emergency phone numbers and a cell phone.

• Teach children how and when to call 911 for help. Make sure they know your home address.

• Make sure everyone in your family knows how to send a text message. Texts often get around network disruptions when phone calls cannot.

• Subscribe to alert services. Many communities have systems that send out text messages and emails with the latest information during a disaster. Visit our local emergency management website to sign up at www.bhciaema.com.

If you have questions about disaster preparation, please call Cedar Falls Public Safety at 319-273-8612.