Tune in to AM 590 or 106.9 FM WKZO as fire safety expert Lt. Michael McLeieer from E.S.C.A.P.E. talks about Hotel and Motel Fire Safety live around 9:10 am Tuesday July 31, 2018. You may also listen to the live broadcast by clicking here.
Fire safety is important, even when you are away from home. Vacations and business travel make hotels and motels our home away from home. It is just as important to be prepared and know what you would do in a hotel/motel emergency as it is in your own home.
Here are the facts:
- According to the National Fire Protection Association, on average, one of every 13 hotels or motels reported a structure fire each year.
- There are an estimated 3,900 hotel and motel fires that cause 15 deaths, 100 injuries and $100 million in property losses throughout the United States each year.
- The majority of hotel fire deaths result from fires that started in the bedroom.
- Cooking equipment is the leading cause of hotel/motel fires.
Be safe when traveling:
- The United States Fire Administration encourages you to choose a hotel or motel that is protected by both hard-wired smoke alarms and an automatic fire sprinkler system in each guest room.
- When you check in, ask the front desk what the fire alarm sounds like.
After you check in, you and your family should:
- Carefully read and review the escape plan posted in your room.
- Find the two closest exits from your room.
- Count the number of doors between your room and the exits. This will help if you need to get out in the dark.
- Make sure the exits are unlocked. If they are locked, report it to the management right away.
- Find the fire alarms on your floor. Locate the nearest pull stations to active an alarm.
- Keep your room key and cell phone by your bed and take them with you if there is a fire.
- If the alarm sounds, leave right away, closing all doors behind you. Use the stairs – never use elevators during a fire.
- If you must escape through smoke, get low and go under the smoke to your exit.
If you can’t escape…
- Shut off fans and air conditioners.
- Stuff wet towels in the crack around the doors.
- Call 911 to let the fire department know your location.
- Wait at the window and signal with a flashlight or light colored cloth.
- Most importantly, remain calm.
Click here to download the Hotel-Motel Fire Safety flyer located below.
E.S.C.A.P.E. Fire Safety encourages you to visit the Hotel-Motel List to find lodging for you and your family that provides safety and security!
Lt. Michael McLeieer from ESCAPE Fire Safety speaks with Jim McKinney on air this morning and shares some tips to keep everyone safe around the Independence Day holiday.
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – In 2016 alone, the use of fireworks caused more than 11,000 injuries in the United States, with 35 percent of those injured under the age of 15. That’s according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
With fireworks season in full swing, experts want to make sure you’re being safe before you open a pack of fireworks.
“It’s very important that caregivers and other trusted adults are supervising young children to make sure that they’re not in the middle of something that could go wrong,” said Lieutenant Michael McLeieer of the Olivet Fire Department.
McLeieer says there are some important tips to keep in mind this summer while lighting off fireworks.
Some of them include staying away from buildings, keeping your pets inside, and most importantly, if you’re not sure what you’re doing, just leave it to the professionals and go to a public show.
“Two hundred people per day around the fireworks time, around the independence day holiday, end up in the hospital throughout the United States, so fireworks can be very dangerous,” said McLeieer.
Mark Garrity is the Store Manager at Phantom Fireworks in Lansing. He says fireworks can be dangerous in any situation, even if a person isn’t lighting them off. For example, he says a firework case tipped over on accident at work and blew up right next to him.
“It was a scary experience,” said Garrity. “I mean if you’re not safe with these fireworks you can do some really big bodily harm.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, firecrackers top the list of causing the most injuries at 20 percent. Sparklers follow behind at 19 percent.
Garrity says even though sparklers are popular among kids, adults should still be the ones to light them.
“I’ve seen these fireworks do some harm to people and I just don’t want to hear about it somewhere else that somebody got hurt because they were using fireworks inappropriately,” said Garrity.
If you’d like more information on how to stay safe during this fireworks season, we’ve put some helpful links for you under Seen on 6.
Officials say it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The Maranda Park Party season started off with lots of energy and excitement at Lamar Park in Wyoming on Thursday June 21, 2018 (the first day of summer).
Nearly 8,500 people came out to enjoy all of the great fun and food for free. Whether it was flying down the zip line, grabbing a fruit snack from the Meijer Food Truck, learning about fire safety inside the E.S.C.A.P.E. Mobile Training Center or checking out the Rapid Bus, there was something for everyone to enjoy.
This party set the tone for all of the fun-filled parties to come for the rest of the summer.
As the temperatures rise across West Michigan, summertime brings children and adults outdoors for family gatherings, cookouts and a time to play. However one area firefighter warns of the dangers of water that stays in an outdoor water hose.
Lt. Michael McLeieer from the non-profit charity E.S.C.A.P.E. Fire Safety and the Olivet Fire Department says that “children and adults can suffer second degree burns when hot water is sprayed on them from a garden hose that has been sitting outside in the sun.”
“Water left in an outside hose can reach temperatures between 130 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. That is hot enough to cause a scald burn within seconds to children and animals,” according to McLeieer.
Toddlers and children are more often burned by a scald from hot liquid or steam. Most children ages 4 and under who are hospitalized for burn-related injuries suffer from a scald burn (65%) or contact burns (20%). Hot water burns including hot tap water, causes more deaths and hospitalizations than burns from any other hot liquids.
Lt. McLeieer offers these additional safety tips to keep everyone safe throughout the summer months:
- Adults or caregivers should allow the water to flow from a hose for several minutes purging the hot water and replacing it with cool water before spraying children, animals or outdoor plants.
- Dump standing water from outdoor inflatable ground level water slides when finished.
- Closely supervise all children when they are playing with a garden hose and sprayer.
- If a child experiences a 1st or 2nd degree burn, cool the burned area with cool running water for up to 15 minutes, cover the burn with a dry, clean, non-stick bandage and seek medical attention for 2nd degree burns that blister.
- Do not use ice, butter, lotions or oil on burns as they can seal in the heat and lead to infection and further burning.
- Take your child to the emergency room or call 911 for burns on their hands, feet or genitals that cause blisters or burns that cause the skin to be open.