Thank you for visiting our new site! Keep in mind, it is still a work in progress.
what to do if there is a fire
HAVE AN ESCAPE PLAN
GET LOW AND GO WHEN YOU HEAR THE BEEP
GET LOW AND GO WHEN YOU HEAR THE BEEP
- Draw a map of your home. Include all doors and windows.
- Choose an outside meeting place in front of your home.
GET LOW AND GO WHEN YOU HEAR THE BEEP
GET LOW AND GO WHEN YOU HEAR THE BEEP
GET LOW AND GO WHEN YOU HEAR THE BEEP
- When a smoke alarm sounds don't wait, GET LOW AND GO!
- Get outside to your meeting place.
GET OUT AND STAY OUT
GET LOW AND GO WHEN YOU HEAR THE BEEP
GET OUT AND STAY OUT
- Smoke can incapacitate you in seconds, once out stay out.
- Do not go back in for anyone or anything
GET OUT AND STAY OUT
- Find 2 ways out of every room.
- Make sure doors and windows are not blocked.
- Smoke rises and starts banking down from the ceiling.
- Good clean air will be low
- Call 911 from your meeting spot
- It is important to stay here so we know if everyone is out.
PRACTICE
PRACTICE
PRACTICE
- Push the test button to sound the smoke alarm and start your home fire drill.
MAKES
PRACTICE
PRACTICE
- Practice your home fire drill with everyone in the home.
PERFECT
PRACTICE
PERFECT
- Get outside to your meeting place.
Help prevent fires
Cooking
Between 2017 and 2019 cooking fires accounted for 51% of fire department responses nationwide.
- Stand by your pan. If you leave the kitchen, turn the burner off.
- Watch what you are cooking. Fires start when the heat is too high. If you see any smoke or the grease starts to boil, turn the burner off.
- Keep a pan lid or baking sheet nearby. Use it to cover the pan if it catches on fire. This will put out the fire.
- Keep the area around our cooking appliance clear of combustible materials.
Heating
Although portable heaters only accounted for 3% of home fires between 2017 and 2019 they accounted for 41% of fatal heating fires in homes.
- Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from all heat sources including fireplaces, wood stoves, radiators, space heaters or candles.
- Never use an oven to heat your home.
- Turn space heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
- Maintain heating equipment and chimneys by having them cleaned and inspected each year by a professional.
- Always plug a heater DIRECTLY into an outlet, never a power strip or extension cord.
Electrical
In 2021, an estimated 24,200 residential building electrical fires were reported to United States fire departments. Resulting in an estimated 295 deaths, 900 injuries and over $1.2 billion in property loss.
- Never use an extension cord with a major appliance. The extension cord can overheat and start a fire.
- Do not overload outlets.
- Do not overload power strips.
- Insert plugs fully into sockets.
- Replace wall outlets if plugs do not fit snugly.
- Avoid putting cords where they can be damaged or pinched, like under a carpet or rug.
- Use lightbulbs that match the recommended wattage on the lamp or fixture.
- Keep anything that can burn away from lamps, light fixtures and light bulbs.
- Replace worn, old or damaged extension cords right away.
Household Appliances
Between 2018 and 2020 failure to clean was the leading contributing factor to clothes dryer fires.
- Make sure to clean the lint trap in your clothes dryer after every load.
- Make sure to follow the manufacture's instructions on how often to clean clothes dryer's ductwork.
- Always plug major appliances — refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers — directly into a wall outlet.
- If the appliance has a cracked, damaged or loose cord, replace the appliance.
- Unplug small appliances when you are not using them.
Candles
Batteries
Candles
- Blow out candles when you leave a room or home, or when you go to bed.
- Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that burns.
- Don't use lit candles in bedrooms, bathrooms and sleeping areas.
Smoking
Batteries
Candles
- Put your cigarette out in an ashtray or bucket with sand.
- Never smoke in bed.
- Never smoke around medical oxygen.
- Don't charge your e-cigarette overnight.
Batteries
Batteries
Generators
- Stop using lithium-ion batteries if you notice an odor, change in color, too much heat, change in shape, leaking or odd noises.
- Store spare lithium-ion batteries away from anything that can burn.
Generators
Generators
Generators
- Never run your generator in an enclosed area, only outside.
- Don't fuel your generator when it is running. Spilling gas on a hot engine can cause a fire.
- Connect appliances to portable generators with heavy-duty extension cords.
Holidays
Generators
Holidays
- Water your Christmas tree every day. A dry Christmas tree can burn very hot and very fast.
- Inspect holiday lights each year before you put them up. Throw away light strands with frayed or pinched wires.
Working smoke alarms save lives
- Put smoke alarms inside and outside each bedroom and sleeping area. Put alarms on every level of the home.
- Choose interconnected smoke alarms so that when one sounds, they all sound.
- When you hear a smoke alarm, you may have less than 2 minutes to get everyone outside and safe.
- Smoke alarms do not last forever. Get new smoke alarms every 10 years.
- Make sure your smoke alarms work. Your family is not safe if they can't hear the smoke alarms.
- Test smoke alarms every month and replace 9-volt smoke alarm batteries at least once every year.
In need of smoke alarms?
Are you a home owner in the City of Hermitage and in need of working smoke alarms? Contact us by clicking below. If you rent your home, landlords are required by code to provide working smoke alarms. If you have spoken to your landlord and still do not have working smoke alarms contact us.
Make sure to install smoke alarms according to manufactures directions. Alarms should be present on each floor (including the basement), outside each sleeping area, and inside each bedroom. Interconnected alarms provide the best warning an can be wireless for easy installation. When one interconnected alarm activates, the rest of the alarms sound to providing the fastest warning.
Make sure to test your smoke alarms often, at least monthly is recommended. Smoke alarms can only save lives if they are working. If the alarm does not sound when tested change the battery and check the manufacturing date. Smoke alarms are only good for 10 years. If the alarm still does not work, replace it immediately.
Change the batteries in your smoke alarms annually. With the possibility of daylight savings time ending permanently it is recommended to pick another event during the year to help you remember to change the batteries. Examples are a holiday, birthday, anniversary, etc. Remember to check the date on your alarm when changing the battery, smoke alarms are only good for 10 years.