HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — It's National Fire Prevention Week, and this year's campaign is “Fire Won’t Wait, Plan Your Escape." It's also the 100 year anniversary of the annual awareness week.
Henrico County Fire Department Battalion Chief Doug Reynolds wants to ensure every family has a plan in place. That plan should include creating a map of your home that everyone understands and also making sure everyone knows two ways to get out of every room, including through windows.
"Make it fun, and get the kids involved," suggested Reynolds. "Draw the maps, and practice it is the big key. Practice it during the day, practice it when it gets dark, you know, show your people how to get out of your house because that's the most important thing."
The veteran firefighter loves putting out flames, but he said his most important job is helping people understand how to prevent them.
Perhaps the best step you can take is ensuring you have a working smoke detector.
"A lot of times, you're gonna find houses that don't have them or they've taken the battery out or they just haven't replaced them," explained Reynolds. "And that's the saddest part of all is that you know, it would have made a difference. They would have gotten out."
Reynolds said he's seen a lot of tragedy throughout his 34 years in uniform.
“I have twin girls, and we had a fire where we had a set of twin girls that died, you know, very close to the age of my kids," he noted. "The next morning, I had to call home and said I just got to talk to my kids. So you know, this is a job where your emotion bucket is filling every day. Some days it's a drip, some days it's a couple."
Unattended stoves are the leading cause of fires in Henrico County and nationwide, according to Reynolds. When cooking, he wants to remind you to keep plastic and other flammable items away from the burner, and make sure you turn the handles of pots and pans towards the back of the stove, especially if you have children.
If you do have a small fire in your home, it’s important to have a standard ABC fire extinguisher, and make sure it's in an easily accessible location.
"That ABC covers the different types of fires that you can have at your house," said Reynolds.
CBS 6 Reporter Caroline Coleburn demonstrated just how easy a fire extinguisher is to use. The acronym “PASS" — pull, aim, squeeze and spray — can help you remember the four steps to using the extinguisher.
"Pull is the first step, so you're pulling this pinout," Coleburn explained. "Then you're going to want to aim this. Then it's going to be squeeze, so I'm going to squeeze this, and I'm going to sweep."
With the holiday season just a few weeks away, a fire extinguisher, escape ladders and carbon monoxide detectors could make good gifts that could also save you or your loved one's life.
"It's all about making you and your family safe," said Reynolds.
Henrico Fire also wants you to be careful with extension cords this time of year. Reynolds said "daisy chaining," or connecting too many cords into one outlet is what often causes electrical fires, and don't run those cords under a carpet where they can overheat.
For more tips for Fire Prevention Week, click here.
