Phones, laptops, scooters and power tools all need a plug, and that is where the Frisco Fire Department wants residents' attention this month.
The National Fire Protection Association's Fire Prevention Week runs Sunday, Oct. 4, through Saturday, Oct. 10. Frisco observes the week each year during the first full week of October, and the department lists this year's theme as "Charge Into Fire Safety: Safe Charging is a Superpower."
Clowns with a serious message
The city's fire safety outreach stretches across the whole month. The Frisco Fire Clowns plan to stop at every elementary school in Frisco during October, using skits to cover how to prevent fires, how to map an escape route out of the house, why smoke detectors need testing and when and how to call 911.
The clowns are meant to get laughs, the department says, but the lessons are not a joke.
What the department asks of households
Frisco's fire prevention page lays out a short checklist for homes:
- Electrical: Swap out cords that are cracked or damaged, and treat extension cords as a temporary fix rather than permanent wiring. Adding circuits or outlets should be left to a qualified electrician.
- Smoke alarms: Test them once a month and put in fresh batteries at least once a year. The department suggests pairing that chore with the start or end of daylight saving time.
- Cooking: Do not walk away while frying, grilling or broiling. If you have to leave the kitchen even briefly, turn the stove off.
- Heating: Leave at least 3 feet between space heaters or fireplaces and anything that can catch fire, including bedding, paper and furniture.
- Candles: Keep them a foot away from anything flammable, avoid them in bedrooms and put them out when you leave the room. Battery-powered flameless candles are a safer substitute.
- Laundry: Never run the dryer without its lint filter, clean the filter with every load and switch the dryer off before leaving home.
Citing the NFPA, the city says having a smoke alarm that works halves the risk of death in a reported home fire.
The department's community education office is based at 8601 Gary Burns Drive, home of Frisco Fire Safety Town. NFPA lesson plans, activity sheets and videos for the week are posted at FirePreventionWeek.org, and the city also points families to Sparky.org for games and videos aimed at children.
Sources
friscotexas.gov
nfpa.org
