Fire Kills Again – Steps to Fire Safety for the Future
By: Albert Zorn, NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist
Ph: (773) 539-7831 City Wide Fire Equipment Company - www.citywidefire.com

On Thursday, March 08, 2007, the headlines tell of a sad, fear-provoking story about fire consuming the lives of a family including 8 innocent children in the Bronx section of New York. The children ranged from infants to 10-year-olds.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke for the nation when he stated “It just seems
more painful and unfair when children die. Everyone around them dies a little bit, too.”
First comes the period of mourning as we all reflect on the situation and lives lost. When
the mourning period ends, we must review the events that led up to the tragedy. We must do everything possible to prevent such a loss in the future.

News reports mentioned that fire raced up the stairs of the building and trapped residents on the second floor. Early investigations show possible signs that a space heater or an overloaded power strip may have caused the lethal fire.

When reviewing the scenario, what could have averted fire, entrapment and death?
Unfortunately, not all people have the resources to be well equipped, but the truth is the
proper fire safety preparedness equipment could have saved all of the lives that had been lost.

The question is … who is responsible for furnishing these items? Should the law make
landlords responsible for providing more fire safety and evacuation equipment or should
tenants be required to supply a minimum list of such equipment? The answer is
definitely to be debated. There are limits to what responsibility landlords can take for
occupants. Yet, somebody has to do something about fire deaths as they happen
regularly and far too often in this country.

You might ask, “What can I do to protect my home and my children provided I have the
financial resources to do so?”

Following is a list of “must-have” items to have available on each level, in the garage and in sleeping areas of your living space:

• Emergency Escape Ladder
• Fire Extinguisher
• Smoke Escape Masks for Each Resident
• Automatic Emergency Flashlights.
• Smoke Alarms
• Carbon Monoxide Alarms
• Child Finder Reflective Decal System (such as Kids-N-Here)

In addition to outfitting your home with the proper equipment, have an electrician review your electrical system for safety annually, and don’t overload circuits. Never leave space heaters or cooking devices unattended as fire can start and spread rapidly without warning.

Practice evacuation procedures, especially with small children. The drill should include
everything except use of escape ladders. Practice hooking the escape ladder to the
window sill, but do not deploy the ladder as they are specially packed to guarantee
effective single-use deployment.

In a real emergency evacuation, if an infant needs to be evacuated, plan on packing a
wearable baby carrier or sling with each ladder to assist in evacuation. Small children
should be assisted by an adult when evacuating. Most escape ladders are tested to
1,000lbs capacity.

A new item called the “Kids-N-Here Child Alert Rescue Kit” was created by a
Professional Firefighter/Paramedic to help save your child and provide vital information to emergency personnel. The same light reflecting technology rescue personnel use to mark their own equipment was put to use to help identify the most important bedroom door in your home. Since most doors inside a home look alike, the Child Alert Rescue Decal clearly identifies your child’s bedroom door from all others inside your home. The low placement location is ideal for a firefighter crawling along the floor to clearly see below the smoke in the house. Every kit also includes an Emergency Contact List, an EMS Quick Look Medication List, and a Notification Card to be mailed to your local Fire Department. This kit is becoming increasingly popular and could truly save a child’s life.

Unfortunately, fires will still result in deaths…this isn’t the end for sure. If we prepare,
practice and educate, I’m sure we can save lives. For now, all we can do is pray for the
souls of those lost in the Bronx fire and hope that the lessons this tragedy teaches will
save the lives of others in the future.

Editors Note: Albert Zorn is NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist and the owner of “City Wide Fire Equipment Company”. Mr. Zorn has 20 years of experience in fire training, equipment, programs and systems. He is a featured writer of the Illinois Safety Council Newsletter. He may be contacted at (773) 539-7831 Website: www.citywidefire.com Consider assisting your employees to be safe at home by purchasing the “Kids-N-Here Child Alert Rescue Kit” at : www.safetysupercenter.com.