Fire Department Response Times
Here is an article that I wrote for our newsletter as commentary about recent reporting on a neighboring fire department’s response times. I think it important that we put things in persective should we be approached with the same questions and criticisms. We can look at things on an administrative level and talk about how much we do right — or we can be reactive and defensive. Or… we can prepare ahead and show that we are only one part of the puzzle. The community still has a responsibility to protect themselves.
Thanks!
Rich
ARE YOU PREPARED TO PROTECT YOURSELF?I watched with interest the story a local reporter covered about fire department response times in a neighboring community.
I observed that she pointed out that five minute response times are unacceptable and that three fire deaths were used as baselines for this opinion.
As a fire safety educator I find it unfortunate that the community is still being led down a path that the fire service can save ALL lives if they just get to the fire faster. This is simply the wrong approach to be propagating. True, some lives can be saved, but the fire department can only respond to the fire once they have been called.
Here’s my approach to this situation — and it has nothing to do with a “volunteer vs. career staff” comparison:
Most fire deaths are preventable — before fire department intervention is even needed.
When a fire starts in a home it begins to produce smoke. This smoke is full of noxious gases and vapors that begin to fill the room of origin. Carbon monoxide and cyanide gas begin to spread throughout the room and beyond if doors are not shut. Smoke alarms may or may not be in place and they may or may not be working. When a family has not prepared themselves (through practice) to truly know how to respond to the sound of a smoke alarm it is possible that they will not react properly.
Most fire deaths happen within just a few minutes from the start of the fire. Statistics show that the flames rarely kill the persons in question. The smoke is the killer. Persons that do not know to get out immediately will often perish. Persons that delay calling the fire department from outside their home as soon as possible are only contributing to the spread of smoke and flame. They are themselves delaying the help that could and should be enroute. Persons that have not prepared their escape before fires actually happen are going to delay getting the help they need.
Time and time again we hear of people that have perished after going back in to a burning structure to save their family members. If they and other family members had a plan in advance they would likely be escaping or at least protecting themselves while calling for help.
Fire departments can only come when they are called. Many fires that killed were burning and creating hazardous conditions long before the phone ever rang. Often persons that die in home fires died long before the fire department was notified. Fire department response times are very important, yes, but rarely do fire departments get a call the very second a fire happens.
As stated before — most fire deaths are preventable. It is every persons’ responsibility to prevent fires through good housekeeping practices, proper use of materials and equipment, frequent inspections of devices and environments where fires often happen, and proper storage of hazardous materials.
Smoke alarms do NOT have the capability of physically saving lives. They cannot jump down off the ceiling and pull you from a burning home. So, do you know how to properly respond when your smoke alarm activates? Have you taken the steps necessary to prepare yourself and family in the event of a fire in your home? Knowing what to do is not the same as actually being able to do it. Through preparation and practice you and your entire family can become better prepared to get out of a house fire. Why wait for someone else to save your life when the emergency happens? Prevent the emergency in the first place — and at the very least, prepare yourself to do the right thing before it happens.
Remember, fire departments only come to fight fires because they have happened. And, they only come when they are called. How long was the fire burning before they ever heard a telephone ring? Is it possible you could be dead before the call was ever placed?