LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Sunday, February 7 marked the beginning of National Burn Awareness Week, which is meant to raise awareness of burn prevention across the country, according to the American Burn Association.
The theme of this year’s observation Electrical Safety from Amps to Zap (A to Z). On Monday, E.S.C.A.P.E. Inc. President Michael McLeieer spoke with WKZO about some basic fire safety and burn prevention tips for residents.
“Michigan actually is at ten fire deaths since January, so we started out slow, but now that this cold weather has set in, we’re seeing heating is the leading cause of these home fires,” McLeieer said. “National Burn Awareness Week is the first full week of February, it’s an opportunity for us to come together and really promote safety.”
Some of the tips McLeieer discussed are as follows.
Appliances –
“A lot of people may be resorting to space heaters, but we always need to remember never ever plug those high-wattage appliances into extension cords or power strips, always plug them into the wall outlet,” McLeieer said. “When we leave the room, make sure we turn that space heater off. Never leave them on, even when we go to bed.”
Cell Phones and Electronics –
“We also have to think about charging those phones and making sure they’re on a flat service, not bedding or the floor or carpeting or things like that,” McLeieer said. “We want them to be on a hard surface.”
McLeieer says the reasoning for this is that fabric can catch fire from a charging device.
“We see that bedding can actually heat up, those devices generate quite a bit of heat while they’re charging,” McLeieer said.
McLeieer adds that all electronics should remain unplugged when they reach a full charge, or when they are not in use.
Jumper Cables –
“As we’re dealing with the cold weather, some people may need a jump in their vehicle,” McLeieer said. “Make sure if we’re using jumper cables, follow those manufacture guidelines on our vehicles. A lot of our vehicles now have computers and have for quite some time, and the electronics can be damaged if we jump those vehicles improperly. It could cause a fire or the battery to explode.”
McLeieer adds that all families and households should check and make sure their smoke alarms are fully functional with a new battery.
To listen to the full podcast with McLeieer, click here.
For more fire safety tips, visit the official E.S.C.A.P.E. Inc. website here.
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