Safety, not just for RVers

As I mentioned in my last post, safety is the topic for today.

Without a doubt, the seminars that made the most impact on me concerned fire safety.  These two seminars were presented at the RV 101 Boot Camp and again during the Escapade and I attended them all.

They are presented by a former fireman and full-time RVer named Mac McCoy. He pulls no punches and is quite blunt about fire facts and what we must do to preserve our own safety.

Sure he addressed this information for those in an RV, but so much of it applies to our ‘sticks and bricks’ homes as well. In this post, I’m going to keep to that topic as I believe that most who read this are not RVers.

Early warning is a key part of surviving a fire. How can you react if you don’t know there’s something to react to? 

I learned that most of us have the wrong kind of smoke alarm in our homes. The wrong kind is the one that sounds an alarm only for a flaming fire and we need to know about smoldering fires as well. A smoldering fire can fill the home with deadly smoke fumes without setting off the smoke alarm! 

The one we need is a dual smoke detector that uses BOTH PHOTOELECTRIC AND IONIZATION SENSORS to detect both flaming and smoldering fires.

Please look right now to see what you have. Odds are you’ll have the one(s) that detect flaming fires only. When you go to the store to buy the right one(s), (which you’ll do right now, won’t you?), note that there are a lot of displays of the ionization-only smoke detectors still available on the shelves! 

This is one of the first things that stuck out as something that applies to everyone, not just RVers. I never knew this. 

So make extra sure you get the Photoelectric and Ionization Dual Smoke detectors. When I say dual here, I don’t mean both smoke and carbon monoxide! Kidde and First Alert are popular brands. Check your local ordinances to see where they should be installed in your home. 

Drive carefully. I’ll wait until you get back. : )

Hi there. So the second thing that really got to me involves the fire extinguisher. Those rated B and C are basically baking soda and a propellant. They make a mess but don’t hurt anything. 

An ABC fire extinguisher contains Monoammonium Phosphate, which is more corrosive than other dry chemical agents. The issue with these is that once the fire is out, you’ll likely have to replace whatever the powder touched. 

The propellants in fire extinguishers push out product at about 40 miles an hour. That’s so you don’t need to be close to the fire to apply the material but it also means that the material will likely get all over the place. 

You need to check fire extinguishers regularly to make sure they will work. Things can happen to make them less effective such as the dial that shows whether it’s good can have been installed incorrectly, or the lever could get pushed by mistake and release the propellant, which renders the extinguisher useless, etc. 

You can learn a lot about fire extinguishers online and there are likely YouTube videos on how to check them. You can also go to macthefireguy.com for information. He focuses on RVers but again, much of the information he provides applies to anyone.

Mac the Fire Guy also promotes a foam fire extinguisher and I immediately changed out all of mine for the foam ones because I was so impressed with how much better they are. And, the foam doesn’t hurt anything, including people and pets, so if my couch were to catch fire, that’s all I would have to replace because my fire extinguisher won’t spray corrosive chemicals all over the place.

I don’t know if foam fire extinguishers are commonly available in stores as they are a bit more expensive than the powder versions. I can give you the information on the ones I purchased if you like and that information is also contained in the link macthefireguy.com

Fire safety is an intense topic, I know. I’m guilty of not being prepared enough or practicing an escape plan with Evan when we were living in an apartment, house or condo. Mac, the seminar presenter, is very good at conveying a sense of urgency. For example, he points out that we have only 20 seconds to escape a 40’ RV that catches fire. 

Twenty seconds.
 
There’s not a whole lot of time for anyone to get out of a home fire either, right?

It’s not something one does casually, especially as adrenalin is likely flowing at an alarming rate. Those of us in earthquake country have learned that it’s important to train your adrenalin to react properly.

Because I am doing all this now, I feel justified in encouraging you and your family, including your pets, to put a plan in place. 

And practice, practice, practice.