Dousing the Flame on Apartment Fires

Fire prevention must become a top national concern By Bette Dewing â??We often need as much to be reminded as to be informed are among the wisest words ever spoken. Thank you, Dr. Samuel Johnson. And we must remember Martin Luther King"s dream of a nation where content of character matters, not skin color.ˆ  Surely that means not valuing â??physical attractiveness over character. Recent research shows that so-called attractive members of Congress are the ones who get the most TV coverage (â??Looks Matter as TV Covers Congress, New York Times, Jan. 6). Once, the women"s movement denounced this general attractiveness bias, and I"m seeking others concerned that the now decades of related research stored in one of my file cabinets do not go to waste. Indeed, I recently started going to the EIS Housing Resource Center"s organizing group because of decades of research on a number of frustrating crusades about public safety. How I wish you"d heard the January meeting"s powerful talk on fire prevention by Kevin Anderson, an FDNY Safety Education member. It takes an impassioned speaker like Anderson to effectively inform and remind. â??We must remember, he said, that fireplace embers caused the fire that killed three little sisters and their grandparents. â??It would likely not have turned deadly if smoke detectors had been working. These foremost fire prevention tools must be placed up high and checked every month's and several are better than one. Julie, a savvy business executive, marveled, â??He said so much I didn"t know! like the fact that carbon monoxide detectors must be replaced every five to seven years and extension cords should be used only temporarily, never for high power users like TVs and space heaters, and must be in mint condition and UL approved. I add: Make installing additional wall outlets affordable! Power strips must be checked for capacity levels. Some lamps, too. Anderson fears screw-in-type fluorescent bulbs because their bases can dangerously overheat, another reason to support the Light Bulb Freedom of Choice bill! (A recent East End Avenue penthouse fire was reportedly lamp-related.) â??And use only battery-powered candles! he implored. Throw baking soda, never water, on small grease fires. Keep a large pot cover handy to smother small stove fires, but call 911 and get out with anything larger, especially in a non-fireproof building. No building is entirely fireproof, but those with steel beams and all-concrete walls and floors keep fire contained. Marble floors â??crumble with heat. Use only fire department-approved window gates and never place anything on fire escapes. Instructions for devising an escape plan and other vital information is found in the Fire Safety for Seniors brochure that was shared with our group. â??It"s for all ages, said Anderson but, he stressed, â??50 percent of fire victims are age 65 and over. So let"s study and discuss this life-saving booklet, at least monthly, when we check our smoke detectors. Call 718-281-3870 for a copy. Build we must on the unprecedented outpouring of public grief and nationwide media coverage of the deaths of Lily, Grace and Sarah Badger and their grandparents, Pauline and Lomer Johnson, to finally make fire prevention a top nationwide priority. And now two deadly local fires: The Times" â??Fleeing a Fire, Only to Realize That One Child Was Left Behind tragically reminds us that the family of the 7-year-old boy in Brooklyn did not have an escape plan. The death of a woman, age 38, in a fire in an abandoned Harlem building where she and a friend had reportedly taken shelter did not receive print coverage. First we must be informed and then reminded, reminded, reminded! dewingbetter@aol.com