Smoke Detectors and Home Evacuation Plans © 2013 by Wayne D. Lewis, Sr.
for further readings, go to:
In loving memory of my brother,
Clarence Watson, Jr.
Clarence Watson, Jr.
Died: March 20, 2013
Please accept this blog post in the manner in which it is
intended: to save one (1) life. Normally,
my goal every time that I write a blog is to promote myself as someone capable
of informing my readers on something related to: 1, helping buyers buy homes,
or 2, helping sellers sell their homes, or 3, to be informative about the home
buying process, in general.
However, my family experienced a tragedy within the last
week. We lost a very dear family member,
my brother Clarence Watson, Jr. Also
lost in that fire, was his girlfriend, Ms. Barbara Hall. To her family as well, we extend our deepest
sympathies.
Now, this piece isn’t for sympathy, and if you knew my
brother, he wasn’t about gaining or pandering for sympathy. I do this with some misgiving as I did not
ask my nieces, nephew or his grandchildren if I could do this. Nor, did I ask our sister, Ruth, who was
probably his closest ally as I am sure she will miss him greatly. So, I will probably be given a couple of “what-for’s”
when they read this. But I ask their
forgiveness in advance as I wish to focus not on my brother, or the fact that
he was my family member, or Ms. Barbara, as they both died a very horrendous
death in a house fire in Patterson ,
LA.
The 3-fold tragedy relates to the following:
- The lack of a Smoke detector (installed and properly working)
- The lack of a working fire extinguisher- Properly placed, and those in the home properly informed on its location and use, and last but not least,
- The lack of a fire evacuation plan
If we can, allow their deaths, untimely that they were, to be
a teachable moment, whether any one of these circumstances could be determined
as a factor is under investigation, but it remains no secret that at any given
time, anyone of us can come face-to-face with an out of control fire situation.
It is a teachable moment in which I
hope that immediately we pull out a pen and paper and remind ourselves to
either go out and buy a smoke detector, or check the battery in our smoke
alarms. Now, what will make us do that?
Certainly not the untimely deaths of my brother and his
girlfriend. I don’t even think that the
statistics that in themselves are alarming regarding the loss of lives as a
result of house fires will cause any of us to take either a preventive or
pre-emptive step to ensure that we are not the next victim of a house fire.
Instead, I am hoping that you will be encouraged by the name(s)
of your children who will hopefully sleep peacefully for all of their years as you
watch over them. I am hoping that you
will be encouraged by the fact that you accidentally left a curling iron on
next to a towel in bathroom. Or, I hope
that you will be encouraged by the fact that the iron that you left on this
morning and the potential loss of life and property (secondary) will cause you
to either look up and see if the smoke detector was working, or that you will
feel compelled to stop at the hardware store and spend the few dollars that
it will cost to save the life of you and your loved ones.
What will make anyone of us go out and buy a smoke detector,
or right now, go and check our smoke alarms? Certainly not my brother and his girlfriend’s
untimely passing. As we know, people die
everyday in some type of fire. They die in car fires, house fires, fires on the
job, or plane crashes. There isn’t
anything pressing for many of us to do that right now, we will make us go out
an buy a smoke detector, or even take the time to check our smoke alarms.
What is disturbing, as I pulled up a few articles and
resources for this piece, is that in some cases, there were smoke detectors, that were in perfect working order. It was
just that the smoke detector was no match for the fire that occurred. What is disturbing is that in cases where
there were smoke alarms, the fires burned so quickly, that in many cases, the
residents/victims could not get to safety in time.
In fact, if we study how people die from fires, or how many
people have died as a result of fires in their home, it would perhaps be better
not to have a smoke detector, or even a fire extinguisher. The way that fire
moves so quickly up the stairs to our children’s rooms and snuff’s out their
little lives, it would be better if we would let the devil do his work, and
hope that our love-ones didn’t suffer.
Well, we can do something to minimize that possibility: Buy 2 smoke detectors,
or 3 smoke detectors. Buy one for every hallway, stairway, or whichever way
there is in our homes, so that we maximize safety and minimize the loss of
life.
I don’t want to be morbid, but fires send messages that for
some reason, we don’t quite fully understand what it is saying. For example, fires in happen in the home far
too frequently. But they never happen in
our house. “We have never had a
fire—ever---in our house!” Fires happen everywhere but our home. So, do why bother with a smoke detector? Why bother with a fire extinguisher? Why bother with an emergency evacuation
plan? Why bother? Because so many of us have the unreasonable
attitude: “That will never happen to me!”
Obviously, we may all feel invincible in some way or
another. We all tend to believe that if
something like a fire occurs in our home, that we will be able to react quickly
enough, because we always believe that we will be awake. Unfortunately, many fires occur at night,
while we are sleep. Many fires are like burglars, the only thing is, they are
already in your home, and they are doing their utmost to make sure you don’t
escape. Many fires occur right under our
noses, and that’s how many of us die, from carbon monoxide poisoning, from an
unsuspecting fire.
Maybe you won’t go out and buy a smoke detector, ranging in
price from $4.00 to maybe $50.00 for your home.
Or maybe, you won’t go out and buy a fire extinguisher, ranging from $20
to $75 for your home. But do check to
make sure that your clothes aren’t too close to the water heaters; make sure
that your children don’t play with matches; make sure that you check the
batteries in the smoke detectors; make sure that you check the pot on the
stove; make sure that you double-check the curling irons; do not leave gas cans
next to water heaters; be sure to leave windows cracked opened when burning gas
heaters to reduce a build-up of carbon dioxide.
The above suggestions are well documented. How often do we practice them? Perhaps not often enough, but then again, we
can’t stress the importance of these other preventive strategies, that could
save at least one life. Be safe and be fire smart.
Let me close by
focusing again on the three things that I mentioned above:
- The lack of a Smoke detector (installed and properly working-(Cost range $4.00-$50.)
- The lack of a working fire extinguisher-(Cost range $20-$75.00) Properly placed, and everyone being properly informed on its location and use, and,
- The lack of a fire evacuation plan-See link below:
As a bonus to this piece, let me also add that for those of
us who have loved-ones in our immediate care, who maybe physically impaired in
some way, please insure that they too are aware of the importance of all
emergency plans, and/or to be sure that someone in the home is designated to
provide assistance to that loved-one in the event of any type of emergency. And
as always, call 911.
I hope this will be the only time I will ever have to write
such a blog. Perhaps it was my way of
grieving, or of getting out my feelings.
My brother served in the Viet Nam War, and for the most part, lived a
quiet life. Although I was adopted, we
were never far apart, and we knew that we loved each other, despite the routes
our lives took. To him, I dedicate this
blog, and hope that by his passing, that it was not in vain, if we have saved
one life. Rest in peace big brother. Rest in peace.
Disclaimer-No part of
this blog post should be considered as an indictment or accusation that this
fire was caused by anyone person or persons whether by intent, accident or by
circumstances beyond their control, as this incident may still be under
investigation.
If you have questions
regarding fire safety, consult your local fire department or insurance
agent. This tragedy is drawn from as
intent to help others to conduct a safety check of their homes in order to prevent
any such future tragedies and to save lives.
Rest in peace Brother
Clarence and, Ms. Barbara Hall.
Labels: Combustible fires, Electrical Fires, Fire Extinguishers, Fire Prevention, Fire Safety, Home Evacuation Plans, House Fires, Smoke Alarms, Smoke Detectors, Types of Fires
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