The Home Safety Council has designated the week of Oct. 5-11 as National Fire Prevention Week as a way to increase awareness regarding home fire safety and to educate individuals and families as to what to do in the event of a fire.

Each year, I work with Fire Departments and Rescue Squads from across Southwest Virginia to ensure that they have access to the best equipment and training in order to protect Department members and the communities they serve. Last year I obtained more than $2 million in federal assistance for the purchase of new vehicles and equipment for local Fire Departments, and this year I have secured more than $2.1 million as part of this effort.

While our local Fire Departments are well equipped to respond to any fire, the best way to remain safe from a household fire is to of course take the appropriate steps to prevent a fire from ever happening. Most household fires can be prevented, and those that do occur are often caused by a simple mistake made while using an appliance or something that burns in the home. Some easy ways to prevent a fire in the home are:
• Always stay in the kitchen when food is cooking. Watch the food carefully. If it is necessary to leave cooking food for a moment, turn the heat down and return to the kitchen quickly.

• Make sure there are at least 3 feet of space between a space heater and anything that can burn. Turn off space heaters before going to bed or leaving the area.

• Empty ashtrays often. Run water over them before emptying an ashtray into the garbage.

• Only adults should burn candles. Blow out candles before leaving a room or going to sleep.  Use holders that cannot burn and will not fall over. Place candles only in areas out of the reach of children and pets.

• Never leave matches or lighters within the reach of young children. Keep them locked away. Do not leave them in purses or the pockets of clothing.

Although prevention is the optimum means by which to achieve fire safety, it is essential that you and your family know what to do if a fire does in fact occur. Below are recommendations from the National Safety Council on how to develop a plan for you and your family to safely evacuate your home in the event of a fire.
• Bedroom doors should be shut while sleeping. If you think there is a fire, feel the door and knob for heat before opening.

• Design an escape route for each area of the home and a designated meeting place outside. Be sure to practice your escape route periodically so it will be easy to remember.

• Be sure to teach young children not to hide from fire or smoke and to go to firefighters who are there to help them.

• All children should be familiar with the ideas of “crawling underneath the smoke” to escape a fire. “Stop, drop and roll” is another safety principle that must be ingrained into children’s minds.

• Multi-storied buildings are of special concern. Ensure that everyone is familiar with how to use an escape ladder if necessary.

• Make sure every sleeping room has two means of escape in the event of a fire. Windows provide a secondary means of escape. Ensure that they are in proper working order, are not painted shut, and that guards can be disengaged.

• Everyone must understand that once you escape, you must never reenter a burning building—no matter what you might have left behind. Call emergency responders (911) from a neighbor’s house.

• Young children should know their street address and last name (and, of course, how to dial 911).

• After you’ve planned for the family, don’t forget the pets. Alert firefighters about your pets. Don’t rely on window or door decals to alert firefighters—such decals are often found to be outdated.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week, and other ways to prevent fires in the home or injuries which result from household fires, please visit the Web site for the National Fire Protection Association.

Rick Boucher is Congressman for the 9th District of Virginia, which includes the New River Valley. You can catch his Capitol Commentary regularly at the New River Voice.