Gov. Rick Snyder today proclaimed October as Fire Prevention Month toemphasize this year’s theme: “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.” Michiganders are urged to look for places fire could start in their homes and fix any potential fire hazards; listen for the sound of the smoke alarm; and learn two ways out of every room by developing and practicing a home escape plan. State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer kicked off Fire Prevention Month on LARA Live this morning.
“We’re working to educate people about how to reduce the likelihood of having a fire in the first place, and if they do have a house fire how to escape safely,” said Sehlmeyer. “This includes identifying fire hazards and correcting them to prevent fires and knowing the importance of having working smoke alarms on each level of their home to alert families to quickly escape. Working smoke alarms provide early notification and then exiting quickly can literally make the difference between life and death in so many instances.”
Sehlmeyer explained that there’s a much smaller window of time for people to escape a home fire safely – as little as one or two minutes to escape from the time the smoke alarm sounds -- largely due to more plastics and furnishing burning faster, producing large amounts of toxic gases and smoke. Knowing two ways out of every room will help people use that small window of time wisely to escape fire. Sehlmeyer also shared the importance of closing doors behind you as you exit to slow the growth of the fire.
For more information go to: Michigan CRR 2018-2020 Strategic Plan