Fire Prevention 2022

o l e y Foley

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The Foley Fire Department members are Gary Bautch (front, from left), Andy Shaw, Greg Poganski, Travis Sweno, Logan Lunde and Jason Studanski; (middle, from left) Tyler Palm, Travis Janson, Adam Foss, Bryan Moshier, Mike McMillin, Kraig Rudolph, Jerry Linn and Jay Howard; (back, from left) lieutenant Todd Foreman, lieutenant Chris Harren, fire chief Mark Pappenfus and assistant chief Larry Nadeau, captain Rick Herbrand. Not pictured are captain Josh Beutz and Jerad Fleck.

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the Alarm from front

“This is the second time that Kenny has done this for us, and he’s done a really fine job,” Hofman said.

Working alongside the Foley Fire Department was essential to help make homes safer beyond the Sept. 17 event, said Nicole Bathgate, American Red Cross disaster program manager for central Minnesota.

The cooperative effort does not rest solely with the Red Cross and the Foley Fire Department; it is a partnership with families and individuals, Bathgate said.

“Families ensure they have working smoke detectors in their homes, and they learn how to maintain them,” she said.

“That, coupled with home fire prevention safety education, helps to save lives, reduce injuries and build resilient communities.”

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, if every home in the United States had a working smoke alarm, deaths by home fires would drop by 36%.

Do not assume smoke detectors are in working condition. Test them each month and know the last time someone replaced the batteries.

Fire prevention experts urge changing smoke detector batteries every year. New smoke alarms should be installed every 10 years.

“The battery-operated smoke alarms that we helped install with the Foley Fire Department have batteries that last 10 years,” Hofman said.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, missing or disconnected smoke alarm batteries cause 50%

Fires are responsible for more than 3,000 deaths annually in the United States. According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms or working smoke alarms, the latter primarily due to missing or dead batteries.

of smoke alarm failures. While dead batteries are the cause of about 24% of smoke alarm failures, it is almost twice as likely the battery is completely disconnected or there is no battery installed in the first place.

NFPA fire safety statistics indicate that almost 75% of smoke alarm failures in the home come down to an easily preventable problem with the battery.

Nadeau said the department remains passionate about the effort even though this year’s

Sound the Alarm numbers were not as big as they were in 2018.

“The value of what we did is still there,” Nadeau said. “Anytime you can engage someone regarding fire safety it’s a good day. Many homes we visited did not have working smoke alarms. When we do things like this, it’s an opportunity to change the narrative. We are being proactive instead of reactive.”

Sound the Alarm

Some people run from problems.

run to them.

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GRAPHIC COURTESY OF KIDDE FIRE SAFETY MEDIA RESOURCES

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICOLE BATHGATE AMERICAN RED CROSS-CENTRAL MINNESOTA

Resident John Vizenor completes Sound the Alarm fire preparedness campaign paperwork while Red Cross volunteers Carol Otremba and Ricky Thiyaga Rajan stand ready to answer questions. The Foley Fire Department also participated in the Sept. 17 visit, which included smoke detector installation.

Rapids Fire Department

Scott Vadnais

from left), Keagan Gunderson, Jeff Jahnke, Brent Bukowski, Steve Ellson, Bryce Sequin, Jared Gapinski, Brad Peterson, Cory Zimpel and Dale Abraham; (middle,

Kevin Roesner, Jason Adamski, Montana Hanson, Doug Dingmann, Alan Olson, Brian Otremba, Tyler Gedicke, Kaden Cahill, Dalton Landwehr, Deelia Guite, Mike Griffin, Jared Powell, Greg Bomstad, Jason Fleming, Dale Ward, Spencer Buerkle, Tim “Fritz” Schueller, Don Benoit, Dave Benoit, Ron Schlichting, Gary Johnson, Howie Trushenski, Dick Turch, Charlie Sobieck, George Vadies, Frank Riehm, Matt Heinen Sr. and Micheal Golembeski;

Andy Hovanes, Neil Bueckers, Dennis “Jock” Schlichting and Kirk Abraham.