Fire prevention with Dave White

Fire prevention is an important issue to talk about heading into the winter season. There is no better way to stay safe than to have a working fire alarm in your home. But did you know that only about 25 percent of consumers are aware of how often you are supposed to change your fire alarm? That is why Dave White from Home Depot, is available via satellite to discuss what should you check for on your alarms at home and the latest advancements in fire safety technology. Also what you should know about fire extinguishers and where you can go for more information to keeping safe this winter season.

Let’s start with tip number one, where should people start?

The best place to start is to make sure that you have working smoke detectors throughout your home. Again at least on every level of your house, but more specifically in places like right outside sleeping areas and kitchens, garages even an attic. A lot of people don’t realize that after about 10 years, smoke alarms sensors really don’t work as well as they used to, so they may not be effective. So, after 10 years the rule is actually you know to replace those smoke detectors and just put brand new ones in. A lot of technology has really come around in the last several years that really make it quick and easy to help protect your home. So, at Home Depot, our product experts have worked with Kidde to come up with some really great technology and innovation.

For example, we have the Kidde wireless interconnected smoke and carbon monoxide detector. I know that sounds like a mouthful but first it’s a combination smoking and carbon monoxide which is really important that you protect against fire and carbon monoxide. It’s wireless and interconnected and that means that all of these units even though they’re wireless they talk to each other. So, if one goes off in one part of your house they alert all of the other ones in the home so no matter where you are, you’re going to hear that alert and you’re going to hear it in the form of a voice rather than a beep, which is a lot more effective and making sure people wake up and get out of the house. It’s got a 10-year battery sealed inside you never have to worry about that so after 10 years, you just replace the whole thing and you can even connect it to your smart phone so you can get alerts on your phone if you’re not at home so all kinds of cool stuff. This is available only at Home Depot.

What should people think about if their alarms are not working still?

So, the other thing to think about is just to make sure you replace the battery. This time of year, fire prevention month, is a great time to think about these things. Go ahead and just replace the battery no matter what and when you do that you want again technology as your friend. So, Duracell makes these quantum batteries which are pretty cool, because they have a 10-year shelf life which means you can buy a whole bunch of them have them handy whenever you need them and you can store them for up to 10 years. They’ll still hold their charge so something to think about.

Is there a technique people should use when using extinguishers?

So, the first thing about extinguishers is to make sure you get the right extinguisher for the right area of your home. They’re rated for different types of fires so just read the labels and make sure you get one for example that’s specific for your kitchen or a workshop or general areas in the home and then you need to make sure you know how to use it. Just remember past the first thing you do, pull the trigger right then you aim at the base of the fire. Then you squeeze the trigger then you sweep from side to side. So, remember that pull the pin aim squeeze and then sweep. If you need some more information all you’ve got to do is come on into Home Depot or go online to homedepot.com/firesafety.

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Tags: DCypher Studios

About the Author

David Morales is the Executive Editor of The Hype magazine. A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, David has a background as an artist manager, writer, blogger, drummer, and in the human services industry. He is passionate about helping others, learning and has a deep empathy for the creative process. You can follow his social media @dcypherstudios