The Orange Village Fire Department takes great pride when it comes to protecting your family and the house you live in. In addition to our ongoing commitment to providing you with professional coverage 24 hours a day 365 days a year, our department subscribes to the notion that increasing your safety is a team effort. That effort includes you.

Last year 3,430 civilians lost their lives in the United States as a result of fire. This statistic surpasses deaths by all other natural disasters combined. In the case of house fires, one half of all fire deaths occurred in the 6% of homes that do not have at least one smoke detector! The preceding statistics really underscore the need to have at least one working smoke detector in your home. Please remember that when you change your clock in the Spring and Fall, also change your smoke detector battery. Residents of Orange Village would be surprised at the amount of homes that do not have working smoke detectors. Our firefighters encounter this deadly practice when they respond to small cooking fires, burnt popcorn in the microwave, smoke from malfunctioning utilities and other minor incidents. Most often the detector didn’t activate because there was a dead battery in the unit. Discovering such a deficiency during a minor incident is pure luck. Imagine the consequences if this situation would have occurred during one of our major incidents that took place over the past several years.

Our residents enjoy the beautiful and quiet community they live in. However, as the saying goes, fire does not understand geographical boundaries. Please partner with us to ensure the safety of your family. The following guidelines will provide you with the information needed to avoid becoming a number in next year’s fire related statistics:

• Know two ways out of every room in your home, especially the bedrooms. Purchase a collapsible ladder and teach your child how to open the window and climb down if they are old enough.

• Sleep with all bedroom doors closed. They are a temporary barrier to flame and smoke. Make sure your children can hear the smoke detector in the hallway or place smoke detectors in every bedroom.

• If the bedroom door cannot be used the secondary route should be accessed. In some cases (upper floor with no ladder) this secondary route may not be an actual exit. In that case teach the children to stand near a window and be prepared to yell or wave a flashlight at arriving emergency personnel.

• Teach your children that if they touch their door and it is hot DO NOT OPEN it. If it is not hot open it slowly, and proceed only if smoke conditions are light.

• Designate an outdoor meeting place so all family

• Test your smoke alarms at least once a month, following the manufacturer's instructions.
• Replace the batteries in your smoke alarm once a year, or as soon as the alarm "chirps," warning that the battery is low. HINT: schedule battery replacements for the same day you change your clock from daylight to standard time in the fall.
• Never "borrow" a battery from a smoke alarm. Smoke alarms can't warn you of fire if their batteries are missing or have been disconnected.
• Smoke alarms don't last forever. Replace your smoke alarms once every 10 years.
• Make sure that everyone in your home can identify and awaken to the sound of the alarm.
• Plan regular fire drills (twice a year is best) to ensure that everyone knows exactly what to do when the smoke alarm sounds. Hold a drill at night to make sure that sleeping family members awaken at the sound of the alarm.
• If you are building a new home or remodeling your existing home, consider installing an automatic home fire sprinkler system. Sprinklers and smoke alarms together cut your risk of dying in a house fire by 82% (relative to having neither), a savings of thousands of lives a year.

The Orange Village Fire Department would be happy to come to your home and offer some fire safety tips. If you are interested, please contact Lieutenant Dan Fritz at 440.715.3751.

The high cost of home heating fuels and utilities has caused many Americans to search for alternative home heating sources such as wood burning stoves, space heaters, and fireplaces. Heating is one of the leading causes of residential fires. Over one-quarter of these fires result from improper maintenance of equipment, specifically the failure to clean the equipment.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is another danger when using heating equipment fueled by fossil fuel. It occurs most often when equipment is not vented properly. CO deaths have been on the rise since 1999. On average there were 181 unintentional non-fire deaths from CO poisoning associated with consumer products per year from 2004-2006 compared to 123 from 1999-2001 (Source: Consumer Product Safety Commission). Learn More about Heating Fire Safety »

Fires resulting from cooking continue to be the most common type of fire experienced in U.S.households. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of civilian fire injuries in residences. These fires are preventable by simply being more attentive to the use of cooking materials and equipment.

• Never leave boiling, frying, or broiling food unattended;
• Wear short, tight-fitting sleeves when cooking;
• Keep anything that can catch fire away from the stovetop.

Learn the facts about cooking fire safety today!