Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue - Fire Prevention Week

TVF&R is giving out prizes to five people who visit their Facebook page

Taulatin Valley Fire and Rescue

(ALOHA, Ore.) - Fire Prevention Week is October 3-9 and TVF&R wants to remind you to check your smoke alarms. The majority of people who die in a fire succumb to the heat and smoke, not flames. Having a working smoke alarm in your home doubles your chances of surviving a fire.

During Fire Prevention Week, TVF&R is giving out prizes to five people who visit their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TualatinValleyFireandRescue) and learn about smoke alarms. Thanks to the generous support of Belfor Property Restoration, winners of the contest will receive a $25 gift card to one of the following businesses:

• Itunes
• Starbucks
• Red Robin
• Regal Cinemas
• Subway

During Fire Prevention Week, TVF&R's Fire Safety House will also be visiting several local schools, where students will learn the importance of working smoke alarms and practice escaping from a "smoke-filled" building.

Fire is nothing like what you see on TV or in the movies. It produces dark and deadly smoke that can fill your home in minutes, and can confuse you to the point that you never make it out alive. That is why firefighters don an air pack before entering a burning building and use thermal imagers to search for victims.

Most fatal fires happen at night when people are sleeping. Working smoke alarms are designed to activate early to help ensure that you and your family have time to escape from your home.

• To ensure maximum protection, install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home including the basement.
• Check your alarms monthly and replace smoke alarms 10 years old or older.
• Hard-wired alarms (those wired directly into home electrical systems) should have a battery back-up.
• Never disconnect or remove batteries from smoke alarms for false alarms or other electronics.
• Develop and practice a fire escape plan that includes a meeting place outside.
• If your smoke alarm sounds, immediately exit your home, call 9-1-1, and stay outside.

If you do not have a working smoke alarm or would like your smoke inspected, contact TVF&R at 503.649.8577 or your local fire department.
For more life safety tips, visit: www.tvfr.com/safetytips/fire/alarms/home.aspx.