TO: Media

FROM: Gower Webb, Fire Marshal

DATE: October 29, 2008

RE: Press Release: Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors, Fire Safety and Cold Weather Precautions for Commercial Sprinkler Systems

This Sunday, November 2, 2008, Daylight Savings Time will end and it will be time to set back your clocks. Please take this opportunity to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and replace the batteries. We recommend that smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector batteries be changed twice a year.

The Meridian Fire Department will have 9-volt (square type) batteries available. We invite the public to drop by and pick up a 9-volt battery for their detectors, as these batteries will be available at all fire stations as long as our supplies last. Please make sure your detectors are in good working order.

Fall and Winter Safety Precautions

Heating equipment is the leading cause of home fires during the cold months, and trails only cooking equipment in home fires year-round. All heating equipment should be inspected annually by a trained professional. I encourage the public with the following safety precautions regarding heating equipment:

● Space Heaters

Space heaters need space; keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from a space heater. Space heaters should only be used for a limited time each day and never connected to an outlet with an extension cord. When buying a heater, look for devices with automatic shut-off features.

● Gas or Electric Furnaces

Gas or electric furnaces that have not been used for several months will most likely have a build-up of dust and dirt on heating elements. This can cause a burning smell and even a light haze of white smoke when first operated for the season. This smell and haze are

Fall and Winter Safety Precautions, Gas or Electric Furnaces (continued)

not harmful, and will take only several uses before all the dust and dirt on the heating unit are burnt away. To be safe, try to run the furnace on a warm day while opening all windows so the smell can escape. If the smoke turns black and the furnace starts to rumble, leave the building immediately and call the fire department by dialing 911.

● Kerosene Heaters

Follow all safety precautions when using a portable kerosene heater, using only the specified type of kerosene specified by the manufacturer. Keep a window ajar or door open in a room where an un-vented heater is in use.

● Fireplaces:

Before using a fireplace for the first time each season, make sure the flue is open, and remove any obstructions in the chimney. If not removed, these obstructions will cause carbon monoxide to back up into your home. All solid-fueled heating equipment needs to be inspected and cleaned annually by a professional.

Commercial Sprinkler Systems

In addition, I would like to remind all commercial businesses having fire suppression sprinkler systems to make arrangements to insure that susceptible piping is protected from freezing.

It is a yearly requirement that “all automatic sprinkler and standpipe systems shall be inspected, tested, and maintained in accordance with NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems,” per the 2000 edition of the NFPA Life Safety Code (9.7.5).

Gower Webb

Fire Marshal

Meridian Fire Department