October is Fire Safety Month, and Jake the Safety Dog and E.S.C.A.P.E. Fire Safety want to make sure your family is safe with these fire safety tips:
- Make sure you have a working smoke alarm
- Test your alarm monthly
- Change batteries yearly
- Replace alarm every ten years
- Have a smoke alarm in each bedroom and on each floor
- Don’t put an alarm in the kitchen to reduce false alarms
- Call your local fire department’s non-emergency line with questions or concerns
- Review home escape plans
- Have at least two exits that are easily accessible
- Have a meeting place for the family
It’s family business at Spencer Manufacturing in South Haven. Our friend Maranda from WOTV 4 Women visited the family-owned company, which has been building custom fire trucks since 1986.
Spencer creates each fire truck based on what a fire department needs. Each truck takes about three months to complete and is made in three steps: building the body, painting, and checking the plumbing and electrical. The staff at Spencer have to follow strict guidelines in building the fire trucks. Each truck can cost anywhere between $100,000 and $1 million.
Jake The Fire Safety Dog joined his friend Maranda from WOTV4Women and kids in Kalamazoo came ready to run the Fifth Third Junior on October 22.
Kids ages five to 13 got to participate in a half mile or one mile fun run on the track at Kalamazoo Central High School. The program is hosted by the Fifth Third River Bank Run. It introduces kids to running through the Feelin’ Good Mileage Club, which took place in more than 20 area schools. Students who completed at least five miles in the Feelin’ Good Mileage Club got to participate in Fifth Third Junior for free!
KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. (WOTV) Students in the Kalamazoo area are getting a first-hand lesson at how trees turn into lumber. The Log to Lumber program was started five years ago to teach kids in wood shop about where lumber comes from. The program also shows them how their classes relate to real-life situations and lets them explore career opportunities they might not otherwise know about.
The program teaches students about forestry, forest management, how to measure a tree, determine its value, and cut it down. It then takes them through the process of hauling a tree to the saw mill and cutting it into boards.
Here is the full video of the Log to Lumber program on Maranda Where You Live – 10/23/2014:
Here is the 1st part of the Log To Lumber program on Maranda Where You Live – 10/23/2014:
Here is the 2nd part:
Here is the 3rd part:
Here is the 4th and final part:
Nothing says fall quite like a campfire. Whether telling spooky ghost stories or roasting marshmallows around the fire, it’s important to understand how to stay safe around a fall campfire.
- Select an appropriate location. Before creating a campfire, make sure you understand any rules or regulations for your area. Avoid building the fire near low-hanging branches, tree roots, structures, and other flammable items. Try to choose a location where your fire will be sheltered from the wind and use campfire rings or other designated campfire accessories whenever possible.
- Use the appropriate campfire fuel. Soft woods like pine, fir, and cedar are best for starting a fire. Start the fire by building a small teepee of dry sticks and igniting it with a match. As the fire gets started, add larger pieces of wood. Remember to keep the fire small. Don’t burn items that may explode or give off toxic fumes. Items should never be thrown in a fire. That includes batteries, plastic bags, glass, and aluminum cans.
- Supervise the campfire area continuously. A responsible adult should always be present while a campfire is burning. Encourage small children to stay seated several feet away from the fire. Extinguished campfire areas should still be monitored after the flames have gone out to make sure the campfire does not re-ignite and to make sure that children are not burned by embers, which still retain heat even after the fire is extinguished.
- Completely extinguish the campfire. A roaring fire is both a success, and a responsibility. It is your job to properly maintain and extinguish your campfire when you are finished. Make sure you always have a large bucket of water and metal shovel on hand to put out the fire. Pour lots of water on the fire, drown all embers, not just the red ones, until the hissing sound stops. Stir the campfire ashes and embers with a shovel and pour more water on the ashes, then feel the area to make sure they are cold to the touch.
From the pumpkin patch to ghost stories around the campfire, E.S.C.A.P.E. Fire Safety reminds you that fall activities are more fun when you know that your kids are safe Where You Live!