To educate everyone on the dangers of fires within homes and business across the country, the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) recognizes October as Fire Prevention Month. Nation wide initiative has been made to bring safety measures and practices to the forefront. The NFPA released several helpful tips and guides for both home and business practices to help keep everyone we care about safe.
The motto of the NFPA Fire Prevention month is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. A fire can happen anywhere.”
In 1922, when the National Fire Protection Association named the second week in October Fire Prevention Week in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Today, we celebrate Fire Prevention Week and Month by raising awareness and educating families, students and communities across the United States. Fire departments go around to schools and communities to talk to kids and teach them about fire safety and what to do to keep your home safe and what to do in case of a fire.
At Optimus Steel, we wanted to keep Fire Prevention Month at the top of our minds both in the mill and in the homes of all our employees. Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Ed Goettl commented on the steps that Optimus Steel has taken this month to ensure safety was at the forefront of discussions.
“Our safety walks this month included the following:
· Evacuation routes and emergency response equipment including fire extinguishers and eye wash.
· Housekeeping is a leading cause of fires, so this was be a big focus. The mill looks great!
· Discuss emergency action plans with all our employees.
· Drills for local emergency responses”
Creating an emergency plan within the mill and at home is a preventative factor that can play a huge role in the loss that occurs when a fire or natural disasters happens. According to the NFPA, less than 50% of homes have an escape plan in the event of a fire or carbon monoxide. In addition to that another alarming statistic that the NFPA has reported is that in 2016 there were 352,00 home fires and of 60% of the deaths that occurred in the home fires happened where there were no smoke detectors.
“We want it to raise awareness, so employees create evacuation plans for their homes, make sure their smoke detectors have fresh batteries, and get their children to know what actions to take should something unfortunate occur. We want all employees safe at work and at home.” Said Goettl.
We hope our focus on Fire Prevention Month helped our employees both within the mill and at home to be better prepared for all types of fire, carbine dioxide, or natural disasters that can happen. Please try to discuss and plan for emergencies in your home. Nothing is more devastating than the loss of a loved one in a fire. Remember EDITH (Exit Drills In The Home) for anyone with children. If you think you are good, go set off your smoke alarm at 10 pm tonight and see what your children do.