Fire Prevention Week begins today

The as Fire Prevention Week begins, the National Fire Protection Association wants to help people double their chances of escaping from a burning home.
In a news release on Sept. 27, Lorraine Carli with the NFPA wrote that modern home construction, with more open spaces and unprotected lightweight construction, contributes to an increased rate at which home fires burn.
With that in mind the association announced that the theme of Fire Prevention Week, Sunday through Oct. 14, is “Every Second Counts: Plan Two Ways Out.”
The NFPA suggests taking the following measures to keep families safe: working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom and near all sleeping areas; two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window; and, a clear path to an outside meeting place — a nearby tree, light pole or mailbox — that’s a safe distance from the home.
They suggest that families practice escaping their home twice a year.
Chris Walters, deputy fire marshall with Santa Cruz County Fire Department, adds that in a larger-scale emergency, people need to plan well beyond getting to their front door.
“Besides a general evacuation plan for your home, that should include escape routes out of the valley. You should have routes out of the valley identified ahead of time. You should be familiar with as many of them as possible,” Walters said. “We have a dynamic area for driving around in. The amount of people that are here now could clog up the roads in a hurry in an emergency. Do this ahead of time so you’re not trying to do this in the heat of an emergency.”
For more information on Fire Prevention Week, visit www.nfpa.org.