PLH GROUP NEWS
Understand Your Role: National Fire Prevention Week
Date: October 2, 2019
Every 24 seconds, a fire department in the United States responds to a call. That means, by the time you are finished reading this article, likely five departments would be en route to an emergency situation. To protect workers throughout the United States, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces mandatory workplace fire safety prevention. However, of all fire calls in 2017, 72% were home structure fires.
Tragically, many families do not have a home fire escape plan.
Just because fire marshals are not knocking on the doors of our residences to perform fire prevention checks, does that make our lives at home any less valuable than our lives in the workplace? Absolutely not!
DID YOU KNOW?
National Fire Prevention Week, dating back to 1925, is the longest-running public health observance in the United States. It is observed every year during the week of October 9 in remembrance of the Great Chicago Fire.
This National Fire Prevention Week (October 6-12), let’s vow to protect ourselves, our families, and our friends from the associated dangers of a potential home fire.
According to a recent American Red Cross study, less than 50% of those surveyed had a home fire escape plan. Of those people, less than half have practiced it. With as little as two minutes to escape a burning residence, many people have paid the price of being unprepared. Seven deaths and 36 injuries occur every day from home fires.
OSHA’s Fire Prevention Plan outlines mandatory workplace requirements that could result in penalty if not followed by organizations like PLH Group and its 11 entities. These mandatory requirements include:
- Detailed inventory of all potential fire hazards, such as proper storage, care, and treatment.
- Procedures to control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials.
- Procedures and record of employees responsible for preventing accidental ignition.
- Record of employees responsible for controlling fuel source hazards.
Creating a home fire escape plan is much easier than OSHA’s strict requirements for workplaces. The National Fire Protection Association created a video to outline the essential elements of a home fire escape plan:
- Plan your escape route.
- Test your smoke alarms.
- Choose an outside meeting place.
- Visibly display the plan as a regular reminder.
- Practice home fire drills.
Will another life be lost in a home fire by the time you finish this article? By taking time to prepare for and prevent home fires now, we will all be more protected in the future.
RESOURCES
https://www.nfpa.org/
https://www.osha.gov/
https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/New-Red-Cross-Survey-Shows-Many-Americans-Overconfident-and-Underprepared-for-Home-Fires.html
