Did you know that June is Home Safety Month? Home safety entails a lot of things but most especially protecting yourself and your family against fire and deadly silent killer – carbon monoxide.
We live in a condo complex. There are 10 units in each building. Even though I have lived here for 17+ years I still worry about my family’s safety. All it takes is one foolish act, or an accident, and we can lose our home – and our lives.
About five years ago someone in one of the buildings in our complex foolishly put out a lit cigarette in a flower pot on their balcony. The fire pot contained a dead, dried up flower. During the course of the night the flower caught on fire which quickly spread to the building (the balconies are made out of wood).
One of the people who lived in the building volunteered at our fire house, located across the street. He woke up when he heard the siren and quickly got ready to go out and battle a fire, not knowing it was HIS building that was on fire.
Thankfully no one was seriously injured however there was one fatality – a cat. The flames also spread to neighboring buildings causing a lot of damage. People were displaced from their homes for many months all because someone foolishly put out a lit cigarette in a dried up flower pot.
Since this complex was built in 72′ and 73′ there have been three buildings burn to the ground. We even had the fire department come to our building a few years ago when our neighbor across the hall flicked his cigarette butt off his balcony that was not fully extinguished and it landed in the mulch below right next to another neighbor’s wooden balcony. Ugh! What an idiot! To think my family could have been at risk because someone was too lazy to do the right thing.
We take fire safety very serious in my home. We have extinguishers, a safety ladder to help us climb down from the balcony in the event of a fire, stickers on the window so the fire department know where my kids are, child gas mask for each of our kids, and even a sign on our door letting the fire department know how many pets we have. We also have a few smoke detectors and a carbon monoxide alarm.
Speaking of carbon monoxide alarms, we had to call the gas company not too long ago because our carbon monoxide alarm went off. We called them in the middle of the night and they came right over. They checked around our home and discovered a small leak behind the stove which he quickly fixed. That was pretty scary. Thank goodness for our carbon monoxide alarm.
Fire can happen in an instant. It can be caused by a variety of reasons. You can never be too prepared.
The same applies to carbon monoxide. Had we not had a working carbon monoxide alarm we would have not known about the leak and my family could have perished from breathing it in. We owe our lives to that carbon monoxide alarm.
Here are some links for great tips and information about how to keep your family safe. I strongly recommend that you check them out.
- Kidde’s Simple Steps to Safety page (Simple Steps to Safety PDF)
- SafeKids: Home Safety
- SafeKids: Fire Safety
- National Safety Council: Safety at Home
- USFA: Fire Safety for Parents
Just by following just a few simple safety steps, you family can be more prepared for potential dangers in your home.
I know that most people know that most people know to replace the batteries in their fire and carbon monoxide detectors twice a year, but did you know that it’s recommended that you test them monthly to ensure they are in working order?
Do you know how often you should replace your fire and carbon monoxide detectors?
Kidde, a leading manufacturer of residential fire safety products such as smoke and CO alarms, has a 9 question quiz to test your fire and carbon monoxide afety knowledge. I took the quiz and was surprised to get two of the questions wrong. I honestly thought I knew a lot about fire and carbon monoxide safety.
The questions are simple (multiple choice) and there is no pass/fail score. It’s simply to test your knowledge.
I would love for you to take the quiz (it takes a minute or two). I am working with other bloggers to promote home safety. The blogger with the most people who take the quiz wins 150 Kidde Worry-Free smoke alarms for his/her local fire department. Kidde will also donate 100 alarms to the blogger with the second highest engagement, and 50 alarms to the third place winner. There is no compensation or award for the blogger with the most people taking the quiz except for the satisfaction of knowing that people in his/her community will be receiving valuable Worry-Free smoke alarms, courtesy of Kidde. Should I win I have asked that half be sent to my local fire department and the other half to my county’s fire department so they can share them with other fire departments in our county.
Please consider taking the brief quiz. You might be surprised to learn what you do, or don’t know, about safety.
Here is think – http://www.kidde.com/SafetyMadeSimple/Pages/Be-a-Safety-Hero.aspx
For answer #10 it will ask you what blogger referred you. Please select She Scribes from the drop down menu.
Thank you for your participation. 🙂
Kimberly
*I have partnered with Kidde to bring you this post. Although compensated the opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.
courtney b says
yes this stuff is So important. I get on my husband all the time about the fire alarms , changing them, updating them. Its SO important!
Jen says
I think this quiz and contest are a brilliant idea. The easy and startling facts provided by the quiz make you think and will hopefully help people realize what a danager house fires are and what to do to prevent death or injury.
Nicole Dz says
I really learned a lot from taking the quiz as I got a few wrong. We really need to update our smoke detectors. And I did not know June was home safety month. It is also very important to make sure your family has a fire safety plan in case of a fire.
Mary Williams says
I think fire safety is so important. I think that every family should have an escape plan, especially if your kids are on a different floor of the house than you are.
Karen says
I think we have a good plan here, but the bad thing is you never know until you actully have a fire. We have a smoke detector and a fire extinquisher in the house.
DEBIJOT says
I took the quiz and the information provided is invaluable.
Sarah K. says
I was surprised about how many questions I got wrong. I’m glad I know what to do now.
saminder gumer says
these are great products. i have a smoke and carbon monoxide detector in my home now and feel safe with them. thanks for the review and tips.