Thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters and fire safety awareness, residential fires aren't nearly as common today as they used to be. Thirty years ago, for instance, approximately 606,000 home fires occurred in the United States, according to data from the National Fire Protection Association. Today, that total is closer to 369,500.
When a fire breaks out, the No. 1 goal is to flee, ensuring that everyone gets out safely. Material belongings can be replaced, but lives can't.
That being said, there are some things that are more difficult to replace than others, making them extremely important to keep in a fireproof safe. The following are some of the more vital documents that you should have safely stored away so they aren't destroyed in worst-case scenarios:
Home insurance policy
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Keeping a hard copy of your coverage policy can help you expedite the process and also determine what's provided for.
Birth certificate
Everyone receives a birth certificate. Besides being a memento, it's also often needed for registration or verification purposes. Should the original be lost, you can have it replaced, but it will cost you money and can be time consuming. Do yourself a favor and keep it protected.
Social Security card
You may know your Social Security number by heart, but that's not enough, as employers, credit card companies, banks, and telephone providers - just to name a few - need it to verify you are who you are. Keep your original Social Security card safely stowed away.
Passports
If you've ever traveled outside of the country, odds are you have a passport. This document is a must for international travel today, plus it can be used as a form of identification here in the U.S. Instead of a desk drawer, consider adding it to your fireproof safe.
Tax
Wildfires started as an annual and seasonal occurrence in the south western region of California since the early 1930’s in part because of the hot dry summers and the hot dry turbulent Santa Ana winds that blow in from the desert during the fall months. Now it has become a yearlong event (Mckay, 2010). These conditions greatly contribute to the “fire season” throughout this area. This set of circumstances in conjunction with downed power lines and humans that ignited fires took place in October of 2007. This led to a series of fires that burned more than 500,000 acres, destroyed 1,500 homes, killed 9, injured 85, and forced the successful evacuation of around 500,000 people out of harm’s way.
Fire safety education is a crucial aspect of fire prevention. The general public needs to know how big of a threat fire is to them and how they can do things in their everyday lives to improve their safety, as well as preventing the threat of fire to begin with. The commission also realized that it was critically important that people know how to properly act once a fire has started. It is important that people have the knowledge to act quickly, safely, and effectively. When people don’t understand fire they can react in many negative ways such as panicking, not evacuating effectively, or by trying to fight a fire that they are not going to be able to extinguish. All these human reactions can decrease safety and end with tragic results. In the commission’s report they approximate that nearly 70 percent of all building fires were due to people acting carelessly because they did not understand the fire dangers that were present. The commission cited studies like one conducted in southeast Missouri. In the southeast Missouri community, a huge emphasis was put into public fire safety education because the fire death rate of the community was much higher than the national average. After increasing fire safety education in the community it was no surprise that the rate of deaths and injuries decreased
Envision yourself in a deep sleep, your spouse lying next to you. For seven years of marriage, your greatest quandary has been your partners obnoxious snoring. Now, you are rattled awake by the wailing of your smoke detector, just outside your bedroom door. You hear the sobbing of your three month old baby boy from just down the hall, and feel the tug of you five year old son on the sleeve of your t-shirt. Forced out the second story window by the fuming blaze barricading the only outlet of the room, you free fall 22 feet onto the frozen ground. Beyond smoke inhalation and second degree burns, you now have a fractured ankle and several severe lacerations. Your spouse, your eldest son, and yourself are now free from the bloodthirsty inferno. Sirens howl, two blocks away. A rescue engine, equipped with three firefighters, is first on scene- 18 minute response time. A second engine arrives, equipped with three firefighters- 23 minute response time. Twenty-five minutes after the initial alarm, a hand line is pulled. Incident commander declares the residence unsafe for entrance. This rescue mission has now become a recovery mission.
Prescribed fires are a well debated topic. While many people support them because they "help prevent" more wildfires, and they are "controlled," I see from a different point of view. There's a reason most building don't allow smoking within a certain distance of the building. Many people don't like it and it can damage their health. Same thing with prescribed fires. They add more pollution to the air we breathe. I know a lot of people support these kinds of fires because the help control fuels, but there are other ways.
More importantly, leave unneeded credit or Social Security cards safe at home, instead of tasking the risks of leaving it or misplacing it out in public. Taking these safety precautions can greatly benefit anyone from having their identity stolen from them. Shredding receipts or any other
Imagine you are asleep and it is a normal night just like any other, when all of a sudden you smell smoke from your bedroom. Immediately, you open your door and you cannot see anything due to the heavy layer of smoke. Your first reaction is to call the fire department and within minutes, they show up at your house. Some firefighters start battling the flames engulfing your house, while others rush into the flames searching for you and anyone else in your family, including your pets. This is just another day at the office for the firefighters but for you it’s a traumatic event and you can’t thank the firefighters enough for saving your life.
Safes that are rated for fires will help protect your valuables for a certain amount of time depending on the rating. Many people falsely believe that a safe is fireproof. There are no fireproof safes. A safe with less than a 1 hour fire rating will only protect your valuables for up to 1 hour, which might not be long enough in a typical home or business fire.
Fire Prevention Services. (2013, September 12). Retrieved March 15, 2014, from University of Texas at Austin: https://www.utexas.edu/safety/fire/safety/historic_fires.html
Eggs came first. Millions of years before mammals, eggs existed, their hard shells unlike her mammalian sister who waddles around, heavily crippled with the burden of her womb. Eggs conferred evolutionary advantage.
Thousands of fires occur on a yearly basis throughout the United States. Whether it is forest fires, house fires, or any other event that involves uncontrollable flames, the outcome will always be the same; high amounts of destruction and physical damage. When fire emergencies occur, responding to the incident may not be much of a complication as apposed to determining the source from where the fire started or what triggered its behavior, which is truly the challenge. In order to do so, a fire investigator has to be present at the scene of the fire after it has been eliminated. The investigator, after reviewing any possible marks or behavior trails, will conclude if the incident was indeed an accident or intentional, thus making it an act of arson. According to the U.S. Fire Administration Topical Fire Research Series, “Arson is the leading cause of fires (267,000 annually) in the United States” (usfa.fema.gov). Arson cases are very complex due to the fact that it can be committed virtually anywhere and by anyone, including fire responders as well. The motives behind arson incidents can also be a very complex issue because it may have been used as a cry for help or simply as a mode of cognitive escape. Gathered reports indicate that the main reasons for arsons committed by firefighter personnel are to be viewed as a heroic figure, an escape from personal stress, financial gain purposes, excitement, or even revenge against the fire company and others.
Do you have an escape route in case of a fire? If not, you should start working on one with your family. People can die because they don’t have an escape route. Here are some ways to get out of the house if it is on fire.
Fire at any level can be devastating, yet the effects that wildfires have on every worldwide country really has left its mark on the land. As written by world renowned wild fire spokesperson Smokey the Bear, “Every year, wildfires sweeps through parts of the United States setting wilderness and homes ablaze. On average these raging infernos destroy about four to five million acres of land a year. But in 2012, wildfire burned more than 9.3 million acres, an area about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined” (U.S. Wildfires). Destroying homes, crops, towns and of course forests. Yet the effects of these fires can be seen from a negative perspective as well as some positive. Plus there are natural causes as well as manmade that makes these destructive fires erupt and become almost unstoppable in seconds.
A wallet, or purse for some, is a precious item in which most people carry things more essential than money towards everyday life. If some people were to lose
The Campus Fire Safety Month (CFSM) is an annual nationwide effort that helps to promote fire safety on the campuses. Held every month of September, the awareness program teaches the students residing in on- and off-campus rooms about the possible fire risks. During this campaign, the schools, community, and various experts create awareness about fire hazards, ways to avoid them and how stay safe.
Firefighting has been a thankless job since the beginning. It started out as a group of people with one objective; to extinguish a fire. They did not worry about the consequences or repercussions from not having any personal protective equipment. The equipment to help keep all firemen safe has drastically changed from being non-existence to the upmost importance. Without safety equipment, firemen cannot perform their job to the best of their ability. Firemen use turnout gear which has three major parts; helmet, jacket, and SCBA.