Volusia County issued the following announcement on Oct. 1.
Does everyone in your family know the difference between when a smoke detector is beeping or chirping – or for that matter, the difference between the sound of a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm?
And more importantly, do they all know what to do if they hear an alarm or alert while at home? Well they should, because knowing the difference could save a life someday. And that’s the reason behind the theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week on Oct. 3-9: Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety.
Volusia County Fire Rescue is promoting the annual fire safety and prevention campaign with a virtual classroom aimed at a decidedly young audience. The goal, according to Volusia County Fire Chief Howard Bailey, was to create an interactive platform to engage children with some wholesome, online fun and games while along with a heaping helping of important fire safety information. The virtual classroom can be accessed by clicking here: http://www.tinyurl.com/VCFRfireprevention2020.
“This is really important information – lifesaving information,” said Chief Bailey. “But before we can educate young minds, we first have to capture their attention. That’s what our fire prevention virtual classroom is all about.”
While navigating through the virtual classroom, online users can click on links to access a variety of videos, children’s books, games and apps – all with fire safety themes. For instance, there’s an animated alarm safety video and a video about planning a family home escape route in the event of a fire. There’s also a children’s fire safety song and a video educating children on stop, drop and roll. One of the highlights of the online experience is an approximately 8-minute, narrated video showing the different features of a Volusia County fire truck. There’s even a video designed to get children interested in fire safety as a career.
The virtual classroom was the brainstorm of Volusia County Fire Rescue Division’s fire prevention team. And although the virtual classroom is being rolled out for the second year in a row, Fire Marshal Shane Lanoue emphasizes that families should incorporate fire safety planning into their daily lives and not just during Fire Prevention Week.
“Fire Prevention Week is always a good time for a refresher on how to make yourself, your home and your family fire safe,” said Lanoue. “Hopefully the reminders will carry through into daily routines. Incorporating fire safety practices into our lives should be a year-round pursuit.”
Regarding the do-you-know-the-difference questions, a smoke alarm emits three beeps and a carbon monoxide alarm emits four beeps. If an alarm begins to chirp, it might mean that the batteries – or in some cases, the alarm itself – needs to be replaced. All smoke and carbon monoxide alarms should be tested every month.
Original source can be found here.
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