If you have ever used an oil based wood stain, paint or sealer, a polyurethane finish, a varnish or any other finishing product containing high VOC’s or Volatile Organic Compounds, then it was flammable.

Oily rags have a long history of being a source of fire, because people are not aware that they have the ability to spontaneously combust and catch on fire. For a fire to exist, it needs heat, oxygen and fuel. Oily rags that get folded or balled up and tossed on the floor have the danger of going through a process that starts with oxidation. As the oil is drying on the rag, it produces heat, and air gets trapped in the folds or balled up portions. Heat and oxygen are combined in addition to the rag, which is usually made of combustible cloth that can become a source of fuel. Heat, oxygen and fuel are all that is needed to create a fire, which is why if oily rags that are not disposed of properly can create a fire that people are not prepared for.

The easiest and safest way to dispose of flammable oily or solvent soaked rags is to use this method:

• Place the rags in an empty metal container that has a tight metal lid such as an empty paint or stain can;
• Fill the container with water until the rags are submerged;
• Place the metal lid tightly over the water soaked formerly combustible rags
• Take the container to your local hazardous waste disposal center or save it until your local community has a hazardous waste pick up day;
• Please make sure not to dump solvents or paint or anything else like this down your drain or sewer.

Photo Credit: Copyright © 2009 Home-Cost.com

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are working together to remind everyone that home fires are more prevalent in winter than in any other season. This is due in part to an increase in cooking and heating fires. Holiday decorations and winter storms that can interrupt electrical service and cause people to turn to alternative heating sources also contribute to the increased risk of fire in winter.

Winter fires can be prevented! The following fire safety tips can help you maintain a fire-safe home this winter season.

Plan ahead for the adversities of the winter season by taking a few simple preventative measures.

• Make certain your wood stove and heating system are always properly maintained and ready for extended use.
• For wood-burning tips contact your local fireplace dealer.
• For maintenance of your heating system contact your service person.
• Protect your water pipes from freezing by planning ahead.
• Turn off all outside faucets (preferably from an inside shut-off to each faucet). If no inside shut-off is provided, wrap the pipe with approved (UL) heating tape. You may also turn on any inside faucet, letting water drip slightly, allowing for expansion.
• Make certain that all vents from the crawl space under the house are closed or sealed to keep out cold air.

Note: Should pipes become frozen do not use torches or other flame-producing equipment.

A hair dryer often will thaw pipes, as will the application of warm water. Pay particular attention to the north and east sides of the house as they are vulnerable to freezing due to prevailing winds.

• In the event a broken pipe occurs, plan ahead by locating the main shut-off to the house and be prepared with a proper-fitting wrench.
• PLAN AHEAD Broken water pipes need not occur if precautions are taken.

Home Heating Safety

For more please The United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) websites.

Fire in the grill, under hot dogs and burgers, is a welcome sight at the family cookout. But fire anywhere else can make your summer kick-off barbecue memorable for all the wrong reasons. cooking safety tips

Safety tips

• Propane and charcoal BBQ grills should only be used outdoors.
• The grill should be placed well away from the home, deck railings and out from under eaves and overhanging branches.
• Keep children and pets away from the grill area.
• Keep your grill clean by removing grease or fat buildup from the grills and in trays below the grill.
• Never leave your grill unattended.

Charcoal grills

• There are several ways to get the charcoal ready to use. Charcoal chimney starters allow you to start the charcoal using newspaper as a fuel.
• If you use a starter fluid, use only charcoal starter fluid. Never add charcoal fluid or any other flammable liquids to the fire.
• Keep charcoal fluid out of the reach of children and away from heat sources.
• There are also electric charcoal starters, which do not use fire. Be sure to use an extension cord for outdoor use.
• When you are finished grilling, let the coals completely cool before disposing in a metal container.

Propane grills

Check the gas tank hose for leaks before using it for the first time each year. Apply a light soap and water solution to the hose. A propane leak will release bubbles. If your grill has a gas leak, by smell or the soapy bubble test, and there is no flame, turn off the gas tank and grill. If the leak stops, get the grill serviced by a professional before using it again. If the leak does not stop, call the fire department. If you smell gas while cooking, immediately get away from the grill and call the fire department. Do not move the grill.

Download these NFPA safety tips on grilling. (PDF, 427 KB)

From NFPA “Grilling Safety Tips” website, for more information please visit: www.nfpa.org.

According to the National Fire Protection Association more than 66 percent of home fire deaths that occurred between 2003-2006 were in homes without a working smoke alarm. A working smoke alarm significantly increases your chances of surviving a deadly home fire.

A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is the only thing in your home that can alert you and your family to a fire 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whether you’re awake or asleep, a working smoke alarm is constantly on alert, scanning the air for fire and smoke. Smoke alarms must be maintained! A smoke alarm with a dead or missing battery is the same as having no smoke alarm at all, so test your smoke alarm monthly by pushing the “test” button, if it has one.

Smoke alarms are powered by either a battery or are hardwired into your home’s electrical system. Hardwired smoke alarms are usually equipped with a backup battery. If your smoke alarm is powered by battery, the battery needs to be replaced annually unless it is a long-life battery (check the owner’s manual). All batteries should be maintained and replaced in accordance with manufacturer’s guidance.

Choose an annual date, such as the time change, when you will remember to maintain your smoke alarm in tip top condition. Check the manufacturer’s expiration date on the label, replace the batteries if needed, and clean dust away from the slots so that smoke can enter freely. All smoke alarms, hard-wired and battery powered, should be replaced every ten years. These simple steps will help ensure that you and your family will have the best chance of surviving if fire should strike.

Learn more about smoke alarms.

Additional Resources:

USFA has a fire safety campaign called Install. Inspect. Protect. which provides information about home smoke alarms and fire sprinklers. Please visit the campaign Website at www.usfa.dhs.gov/campaigns/smokealarms.

Follow @MendhamFireDept, as part of our twitter feed each month, we will remind you to test your smoke alarm.

Smoke Alarm Safety Tips from the NFPA, visit nfpa.org.

From the U.S. Fire Administration website, for more information please visit: www.usfa.dhs.gov.

Extinguishers Have Limits

USED PROPERLY, a portable fire extinguisher can save lives and property by putting out a small fire or containing it until the fire department arrives.

Portable extinguishers for home use, however, are not designed to fight large or spreading fires. Even against small fires, they are useful only under certain conditions.

The operator must know how to use the extinguisher. There is no time to read directions during an emergency.

• The extinguisher must be within easy reach and in working order, fully charged.
• The operator must have a clear escape route that will not be blocked by fire.
• The extinguisher must match the type of fire being fought. Extinguishers that contain water are unsuitable for use on grease or electrical fires.
• The extinguisher must be large enough to put out the fire. (Many portable
  extinguishers discharge completely in as few as 8 to 10 seconds.)

Choosing Your Extinguisher

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS ARE tested by independent laboratories and labeled for the type and size of fire they can extinguish. Use these labels as a guide to purchase the kind of extinguisher that suits you needs.

Classes of Fires

There are three classes of fire. All fire extinguishers are labeled using standard symbols for the classes of fires they can put out. A red slash through any of the symbols tells you the extinguisher cannot be used on that class of fire. A missing symbol tells you only that the extinguisher has not been tested for a given class of fire.

Class A: Ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth, and paper.

Class B: Flammable liquids such as gasoline, oil, and oil-based paint.

Class C: Energized electrical equipment – including wiring, fuse boxes, circuit breakers,
and appliances.

The extinguisher must be appropriate for the type of fire being fought. If you use the wrong type of extinguisher, you can endanger yourself and make the fire worse.

Multipurpose fire extinguishers marked ABC may be used on all three classes of fires.

Remember, in some cases it may be dangerous to use any type of extinguisher. For instance, pressurized extinguishing agent could spread a grease pan fire rather than put it out.

Extinguisher Sizes

Portable extinguishers are also rated for the size of fire they can handle. This rating will appear on the label – for example, 2A:10B:C. The larger the numbers, the larger the fire that the extinguisher can put out, but higher-rated models are often heavier. Make sure you can hold and operate the extinguisher before you buy it.

Installation and Maintenance

EXTINGUISHERS SHOULD BE installed in plain view, above the reach of children, near an escape route, and away from stoves and heating appliances.

Extinguishers require routine care. Read you operator’s manual to learn how to inspect your extinguisher. Follow manufacturer’s instructions on maintenance.

Rechargeable models must be serviced after every use. (Service companies are listed in the Yellow Pages under “Fire Extinguishers.”) Disposable fire extinguishers can be used only once and must be replaced after use.

Remember the Pass-Word

KEEP Your back to an unobstructed exit and stand six to eight feet away from the fire.

Follow the four-step PASS procedure.

PULL the pin: This unlocks the operating lever and allows you to discharge the extinguisher. Some extinguishers may have other lever-release mechanisms.

AIM low: Point the extinguisher nozzle (or hose) at the base of the fire.

SQUEEZE the lever above the handle: This discharges the extinguishing agent. Releasing the lever will stop the discharge. (Some extinguishers have a button instead of
a lever.)

SWEEP from side to side: Moving carefully toward the fire, keep the extinguisher aimed at the base of the fire and sweep back and forth until the flames appear to be out. Watch the fire area. If the fire reignites, repeat the process. *Always be sure the fire department inspects the fire site, even if you thing you’ve extinguished the fire.

Should you Fight the Fire?

BEFORE YOU BEGIN to fight a fire:

• Make sure everyone has left, or is leaving, the building.
• Make sure the fire department has been called (dial 911).
• Make sure the fire is confined to a small area and is not spreading.
• Be sure you have an unobstructed escape route to which the fire will not spread.
• Be sure you have read the instructions and that you know how to use the extinguisher.

It is reckless to fight a fire in any other circumstances. Instead, leave immediately and close off the area.

Dear Valued Citizen:

Please take a few moments to complete the self-inspection checklist listed on this page. While some items might not apply to your household, any items you answer "NO" could represent a potential hazard in your home that should be corrected. If you answer "YES" to all of the items, we congratulate you on your personal fire prevention efforts! Thank you for your time and for your interest in fire safety.

Craig Bellamy
Fire Official

Did You Know………

• most fire fatalities and injuries in the U.S. occur in the victim’s own home?
• two-thirds of all home-fire victims die of smoke inhalation, poisonous gases, or lack of oxygen; not severe burns?
• cooking is the leading cause of all residential fires and fire injuries?
• heating equipment is the second leading cause of residential fires?
• more than 40% of fatal home cooking fires occur while the victims are asleep?
• careless use of smoking materials is the leading cause of residential fires that result in death?

Survival Tips

1. Make sure your family has an escape plan. Contact the Fire Prevention office or your neighborhood fire station for more information on developing a plan.
2. Sleep with the bedroom door closed. Closed doors provide protection against heat and smoke.
3. Teach everyone in your household to recognize the sound of your smoke alarm.
4. Test doors before opening them. You can easily be overcome by heat, smoke or flames when you open a door to an area where a fire has spread.
5. Use windows as alternate exits.
6. Crawl low under smoke. During a fire, super heated air and toxic gases fill the room from the top down. This leaves a "safety zone" of breathable air about 12 to 24 inches above the floor.
7. Call 9-1-1. Unless you are trapped inside, it’s too dangerous to call from a burning home. Once you have escaped and reported to your meeting place, call 9-1-1 on a neighbor’s telephone.
8. If your clothes catch on fire: Stop, Drop, and Roll.

Learn Not To Burn! Fire Smart Equals Fire Safe!!!

Fire destroys more property and claims more lives annually than any natural disaster. It is also the most preventable disaster.

Please help us reduce the senseless loss of property and lives in our community by making a conscious effort to maintain a home free of fire hazards. Share this information with relatives and friends. Remember, fire prevention begins with education.

Should you have any questions regarding fire safety, or want more information on any of these topics, please call our Fire Prevention Division at (973) 543-7152

The fires resulting from improper installation could be avoided if home owners would just get the required building permit and have the installation inspected. Remember, every solid fuel appliance installation requires a permit, whether inside the city limits or outside. It is the responsibility of the home owner to make sure there is a permit issued. If the installer fails to obtain one, the home owner should see to it.

After the appliance is correctly installed and properly inspected, chimney abuse becomes the danger. Chimney abuse is strictly a user problem. Even the safest installation will cause a fire if the chimney is not properly maintained.

Chimneys fall into two categories; site-built (masonry) and factory-built (metal). Properly made, installed, and maintained, either type will provide many years of safe service. If not properly maintained, either kind becomes a time bomb, waiting for the moment when it will create a disaster.

What is the proper maintenance of a chimney? It begins with carefully selecting the kind of wood you will burn. The harder the wood, the smaller the creosote release into the chimney will be. Then curing that wood becomes important. Wood that is allowed to cure for three to six months after cutting and splitting will yield more heat and less creosote.

Maintaining proper flue temperatures is also a part of good chimney maintenance. Creosote condenses onto cold chimneys while properly heated chimneys will trap much less. So burn an open fire until good flue temperatures are achieved, then make sure the fire burns hot enough to maintain those temperatures.

Any chimney should be thoroughly cleaned at least once a year. Chimneys that get a lot of use will require more frequent cleaning. Remember, soot and creosote buildup in the chimney is what flue fires are made of. Keep it clean, and you have protected yourself from this danger.

As part of this chimney-cleaning process and following any chimney fire, the flue should be carefully inspected inside and out. Specialized equipment is now available which permits detailed internal inspection of the entire flue. This inspection can reveal damage that is not visible from the outside. The yellow pages list a number of companies (under “Chimney Cleaning”) that are equipped to provide this inspection.

Never use a damaged flue. If damage is present, your safety is at risk. Have the problem corrected before using the wood stove again! Remember, your life may depend on it!

The Impact of Smoke Alarms

In the 1960’s, the average U. S. citizen had never heard of a smoke alarm. By 1995, an estimated 93 percent of all American homes – single – and multi- family, apartments, nursing homes, dormitories, etc. – were equipped with alarms. By the mid 1980’s, smoke alarm laws, requiring that alarms be placed in all new and existing residences – existed in 38 states and thousands of municipalities nationwide. And smoke alarm provisions have been adopted by all of the model building code organizations.

Fire services across the country have played a major and influential public education role in alerting the public to the benefits of smoke alarms. Another key factor in this huge and rapid penetration of both the marketplace and the builder community has been the development and marketing of low cost alarms by commercial companies. In the early 1970’s, the cost of protecting a three bedroom home with professionally installed alarms was approximately $l000; today the cost of owner-installed alarms in the same house has come down to as little as $10 per alarm, or less than $50 for the entire home. This cost structure, combined with effective public education (including key private-public partnerships), has caused a huge percentage of America’s consumers, whether they are renting or buying, to demand smoke alarm protection. The impact of smoke alarms on fire safety and protection is dramatic and can be simply stated. When fire breaks out, the smoke alarm, functioning as an early warning system, reduces the risk of dying by nearly 50 percent. Alarms are most people’s first line of defense against fire.

In the event of a fire, properly installed and maintained smoke alarms will provide an early warning signal to your household. This alarm could save your own life and those of your loved ones by providing the chance to escape.

Why should my home have smoke alarms?

In the event of a fire, a smoke alarm can save your life and those of your loved ones. They are the single most important means of preventing house and apartment fire fatalities by providing an early warning signal — so you and your family can escape. Smoke alarms are one of the best safety features you can buy and install to protect yourself, your family and your home.

Okay, where do I put them?

Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement. Many fatal fires begin late at night or in the early morning. For extra safety, install smoke alarms both inside and outside the sleeping area.

Also, smoke alarms should be installed on the ceiling or 6 to 8 inches below the ceiling on side walls. Since smoke and many deadly gases rise, installing your smoke alarms at the proper level will provide you with the earliest warning possible. Always follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.

Where would I get smoke alarms?

Many hardware, home supply or general merchandise stores carry smoke alarms. Make sure the alarm you buy is UL-listed. If you are unsure where to buy one in your community, call your local fire department (on a non-emergency telephone number) and they will provide you with some suggestions. Some fire departments offer smoke alarms for little or no cost.

Are smoke alarms hard to install?

Not a bit. In most cases, all you will need is a screwdriver. Many brands are self-adhesive and will automatically stick to the wall or ceiling where they are placed. However, be sure to follow the directions from the manufacturer because each brand is different. If you are uncomfortable standing on a ladder, ask a relative or friend for help. Some fire departments will actually install a smoke alarm in your home for you. Call your local fire department (again, on a non-emergency telephone number) if you have problems installing a smoke alarm.

How do I keep my smoke alarms working?

Smoke alarms are very easy to take care of. There are two steps to remember.

1. Simply replace the batteries at least once a year.
   Tip: Pick a holiday or your birthday and replace the batteries each year on that day. Some smoke alarms now on the market come with a ten-year battery. These alarms are designed to be replaced as a whole unit, thus avoiding the need for battery replacement. If your smoke alarm starts making a “chirping” noise, replace the batteries and reset it.
2. Keep them clean. Dust and debris can interfere with their operation, so vacuum over and around your smoke alarm regularly.

What if the alarm goes off while I’m cooking?

Then it’s doing its job. Do not disable your smoke alarm if it alarms due to cooking or other non-fire causes. You may not remember to put the batteries back in the alarm after cooking. Instead, clear the air by waving a towel near the alarm, leaving the batteries in place. The alarm may have to be moved to a new location.

How long will my smoke alarm last?

About eight-to-ten years, after which it should be replaced. Like most electrical devices, smoke alarms wear out. You may want to write the purchase date with a marker on the inside of your unit. That way, you’ll know when to replace it. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for replacement. Find out more at the U.S. Fire Administration’s web site.

Anything else I should know?

Some smoke alarms are considered to be “hard wired.” This means they are connected to the household electrical system and may or may not have battery back-up. It’s important to test every smoke alarm monthly. And always use new batteries when replacing old ones.

*Borough ordinance regarding Smoke Detector Inspections