Indian River Canvases Cherokee Avenue in Riverdale Park to "Fight Fire with Education"

The Fire Prevention Cohort in and for the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company recently canvassed Cherokee Avenue in Riverdale Park to enhance and refine the awareness of residents with respect to preventing fires.  This recent canvas effort touched approximately 32 homes with the theme of “Fighting Fire with Education” as well as distributing 8 smoke detectors to residents in need of working smoke detectors. 

Indian River believes that fire safety is critical in every setting of residential living and that fighting fire with education is the most effective method of increasing mitigation efforts and public awareness.  Indian River further believes that the best way to promote home fire safety is to conduct home fire safety neighborhood visits. These visits allow residents and neighbors to learn firsthand from respected fire safety authorities and to build connections and trust with local first responders. Ultimately, this can prove to be beneficial and save lives.

Therefore, our Fire Prevention Cohort canvasses neighborhoods after every residential fire incident to enhance fire prevention awareness and fire safety practices in accordance to the aforementioned beliefs. 

Fire Safety Tips

Residents need to be aware of these fire safety tips which tend to help protect and prepare everyone in the event of an emergency in their home by following the precautions below:

1. Install Reliable Protection

Do your part in making sure your home has working smoke and CO alarms installed. Alarms should be in every residence and on every level of the residence, as well as outside each sleeping area and in every bedroom.  Test your alarms monthly and change the batteries every six months, or upgrade to the new 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms for hassle free protection.  Fire extinguishers should also be in the kitchen. and easily accessible in the event of a cooking fire. 

2. Have An Escape Plan

If a fire were to start in your residence, do you know what your escape route would be? Look around to make sure you know where all exit doors are located and establish an evacuation plan that you practice regularly. If a fire does start, do not prop-open any exit or stairway doors. If you are located on a second floor, consider investing in an escape ladder for your window.

3. Stay Outside

Once you have safely evacuated your residence, call 9-1-1 and do not go back inside. If you are worried someone is still inside, make sure to alert firefighters where you think they are. Only go back inside once firefighters tell you that it is safe to do so.

Fire Prevention Tips

Help protect yourself and prevent fires from starting in your residence with the following tips:

• Install smoke detectors

• Use surge protectors to keep appliances safe

• Don’t overload circuits

• Don’t use extension cords that are frayed or cracked

• Don’t run cords under rugs or between rooms

• Never leave a portable space heater unattended

• Ensure children cannot reach matches or lighters

• Don’t store flammable items inside of your residence

• Never leave candles burning unattended

• If you are cooking something, don’t leave food unattended on the stove

• Don’t use gas grills on exterior decks, balconies, or patios or in garages

• Don’t allow leaves, outside trash or debris to accumulate or be stored around the exterior of your house.

The purpose of this Community Initiative is to educate the community with tips for fire prevention and fire safety awareness including but not limited to home fire safety discussions, having an escape plan, and the importance of working smoke alarms inside your residential location.

Overall, many community residents were receptive to this community outreach initiative and the representatives of the fire company and community exchanged positive dialogue with respect to the topics discussed.

These efforts to educate homeowners about fire hazards and different mitigation methods can be effective but also promotes goodwill within our fire district towards the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company.

The Indian River Volunteer Fire Company wishes to acknowledge and thank all participants of this collaborative effort campaign.

Illustrated herewith are photographs of the activities in this community.