NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TN Tribune) – The Nashville Office of Emergency Management reminds the public to build Emergency Kits as well as “Falling Back” an hour for the end of Daylight-Saving Time on Sunday November 7, 2021.
An emergency kit may help you to survive on your own for several days following an emergency. If you already have an Emergency Kit, this weekend is also a great time to make sure all the supplies are up to date and add items as needed. A Basic Disaster Supplies Kit can include water (one gallon per person per day for several days. This includes water for drinking and sanitation.), food (at least a three-day supply of nonperishable food.), flashlight, battery operated or hand crank radio, a NOAA Weather Radio with Tone Alert and other items. A suggested list of Basic Disaster Supplies can be found on the Ready.Gov/Kit website. The site also includes CDC recommended additions to your kits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Smoke Alarms (From NFPA):This weekend is a good time to test and/or change your home’s smoke alarm batteries. Some people also check their smoke alarms in the Spring when Daylight Saving Time begins.Working smoke alarms are a critical element of home fire safety.Important information to remember:
- Smoke alarms with non-replaceable 10-year batteries are designed to remain effective for up to 10 years. If the alarm chirps, warning that the battery is low, replace the entire smoke alarm right away.
- Smoke alarms with any other type of battery need a new battery at least once a year. If that alarm chirps, warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.
- When replacing a battery, follow manufacturer’s list of batteries on the back of the alarm or manufacturer’s instructions. Manufacturer’s instructions are specific to the batteries (brand and model) that must be used. The smoke alarm may not work properly if a different kind of battery is used.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors (From NFPA):Often called the invisible killer, carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon monoxide. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
- The dangers of CO exposure depend on several variables, including the victim’s health and activity level. Infants, pregnant women, and people with physical conditions that limit their body’s ability to use oxygen (i.e., emphysema, asthma, heart disease) can be more severely affected by lower concentrations of CO than healthy adults would be.
- A person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer period of time or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.
- In 2016, local fire departments responded to an estimated 79,600 carbon monoxide incidents, or an average of nine such calls per hour. This does not include the 91,400 carbon monoxide alarm malfunctions and the 68,000 unintentional carbon monoxide alarms.
- Data from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics shows that in 2017, 399 people died of unintentional non-fire carbon monoxide poisoning.
Safety tips
- CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for placement and mounting height.
- Choose a CO alarm that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
- Call your local fire department’s non-emergency number to find out what number to call if the CO alarm sounds.
- Test CO alarms at least once a month; replace them according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- If the audible trouble signal sounds, check for low batteries. If the battery is low, replace it. If it still sounds, call the fire department.
- If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the home is accounted for. Call for help from a fresh air location and stay there until emergency personnel.
- If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow.
- During and after a snowstorm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, and fireplace are clear of snow build-up.
- A generator should be used in a well-ventilated location outdoors away from windows, doors, and vent openings.
- Gas or charcoal grills can produce CO — only use outside.
- Gas logs also produce CO.
The Nashville Fire Department has smoke alarms and Carbon Monoxide Detectors available at headquarters to Davidson County residents at NFD HQ located at 63 Hermitage Avenue, Nashville, TN 37210.You can pick up the alarms between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm Monday – Friday (excluding Metro Holidays.) No appointment is necessary. The alarms are available at the reception window in the lobby.
