After the sad news of a devastating fire in Milwood this week, our thoughts and prayers go out to our neighbors who were affected.
Take a moment and test your fire alarms now then make an escape plan and remember to regularly test your alarms and if you see something you feel is concerning and could be an emergency call 911 right away just as this Milwood neighbor did.
http://www.kvue.com/story/news/2015/02/03/one-hurt-in-sidereal-drive-fire/22784717/
For Info on Smoke Alarms or Austin Fire Dept’s Free Smoke Alarm & Free Home Hazard Assessment Programs, go to: http://www.austintexas.gov/department/smoke-alarms
Or call:
(512) 974-0299 — Free Smoke Alarm Hotline
(512) 974-0290 — Public Education Main Line
It is the vision of the Austin Fire Department that every home and every citizen be protected by at least one smoke alarm. The FREE SMOKE ALARM program offers a free smoke alarm to any resident of Austin who is in need. The only prerequisites are that the citizen reside in a privately-owned home and have a genuine need for our assistance.
Thanks. We are lucky, with fire hydrants close-by and a well-trained fire dept, handy both at saving lives and also stopping the spread of fire to adjacent buildings. A big fire north of us some years ago was shown on TV. We saw multiple “McMansions” crowded together catch fire, as flames leaped from one rooftop to another.
To save your own house and get everyone out , you need to wake-up fast enough, which means a working smoke alarm.
Children sometimes hear an alarm first, so it does not hurt to run a firedrill (hold a smoking candle under an alarm, use different bowls of water to teach hot vs cold and that fire makes things too hot. Fire is too hot, hurts if it touches you, which is why we teach to get out FAST & yell loud, “Fire 911!”).