Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410290008
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
How would you get out of the house?
Get down on your hands and knees and crawl to the nearest door, window or fire escape.
That's what Scott Mutter tells each group of children that passes through the Roanoke Firefighters' Association (Local 1132) Fire Safety House. Mutter is a city firefighter and co-coordinator of the Fire Safety House program.
The Fire Safety House is a 22-foot converted camping trailer with a full-size kitchen, living room with fireplace and small upstairs bedroom with rear fire escape. The program is geared toward teaching fire safety to second- and third-graders, and the camper's low ceilings and scaled-down rooms are just about the right ``child-size.''
About 11,000 children have been through the Fire Safety House since the program started two years ago, Mutter said.
The Roanoke Firefighters' Association takes the trailer, on request, to carnivals, schools, churches and other groups within a 100-mile radius of Roanoke. The service is free.
The trailer and the Ford truck that hauls it cost about $100,000 a one-time cost, Mutter said. Volunteers don't charge admission, so all fire safety house and vehicle maintenance and gas are funded with profits from the association's biannual concert ticket sales.
Presenting the safety demonstrations requires about six people, Mutter said, and firefighters volunteer their off-duty time to man the Fire Safety House visits.
Youngsters from Waverly Place Baptist Church recently enjoyed a safety demonstration. They quickly pointed out some common kitchen hazards, such as a pot holder left too close to stovetop burners and pan handles sticking out over the range so that a person potentially could knock off a pan and get burned.
Hanging dish towels on the oven door handle is not a good idea either, Mutter told the children. ``They dry faster there, but the cloth might get too hot and catch fire.''
As for safety features in the kitchen, the children noted the smoke alarm on the ceiling and the fire extinguisher near the door.
``Why isn't the fire extinguisher right over the stove, where you need it?'' Mutter asked the kids.
That one stumped them.
``Because you can't reach for it over the flames if the stove is on fire,'' he said.
In the living room, the children notice there is no fireplace screen to prevent hot embers from popping out on the carpet. They also agree that a wicker magazine basket was too close to the open hearth.
But they overlooked the spray can of Pledge sitting on the mantel as a potential hazard.
``It says right on the label, `Flammable. Do not use near fire, sparks or flame,''' Mutter read.
Upstairs in the bedroom, Mutter instructs the children on how to escape in case of fire. ``Feel the door with your hand to see if it's hot. If it's hot, that means there's fire on the other side.''
The bedroom door has a heating coil inside, so it feels warm to the touch when the children test it.
Smoke starts to fill the room. The safe, nontoxic smoke is produced downstairs in the control room by a machine that pumps it throughout the trailer.
``Smoke rises toward the ceiling, so you should stay low and crawl on your hands and knees,'' Mutter said.
``If you're in a one-story house you can crawl out a window. But if you're in a second-story house, wait by a window for the fire department to come. Shake a pillow case out the window and yell and scream so we can find you.''
In this case, the children exit safely through sliding glass doors and down the rear fire escape.
Outside, a telephone is hooked up to the control room so that the children can participate in a simulated 911 call.
``We always advise to get out of the house first, then go to a neighbor's house and call the fire department,'' Mutter said. ``We also recommend having a pre-arranged place to meet outside in case of fire, so that family members will know if everyone got out.''
One young fella was so excited that he asked to go through the fire safety house again.
by CNB