Fire department offers free home safety inspections

By Linda Alice Dewey
Sun contributor

Have you had the Glen Lake Fire Department come to your home for your free safety inspection? The program is new. Its purpose is to advise residents and point out potential fire and safety hazards. Plus, the department will not cite you for infractions.

Sounded good to me, so I called and spoke with Jay, who set up my appointment. The team arrived at my home at 9 a.m. on the first Monday of November. There were five fire fighters, including Jay. Two of the five were tag-alongs, training for future inspections.

The first good news was that my drive, which had been problematic in the past because it curves and winds and tree branches were low, was no longer an issue for fire trucks. There was plenty of room. The Aug. 2 blowdown took care of that.

After I greeted them (they are so respectful), they looked around outside first. Turns out, one of my outside electrical outlets is not the recommended GCFI (ground fault circuit interrupter). Then they came inside and checked my electric heaters (to make sure I keep objects a safe distance away), my smoke alarms, and my electrical panel.

Here’s something new. The fire department now has free smoke detectors to give residents — two per household. They will install them free of charge, as well. Something else — they now advise you to sleep with your bedroom door closed, to serve as a wall against fire spreading from elsewhere in the house. A closed door also blocks the air flow — or “flow path” — which could buy you precious time to get out of the house. Problem is, having your door closed makes it difficult to hear alarms located in other parts of the house. Therefore, they advise that you also have a smoke detector in each bedroom.

Right off the bat, that meant I would need three. Plus, one of my others wasn’t working. News to me — it never chirped! I also had no idea that it was six months from expiration. (They’re only good for 10 years. Did you know that? I didn’t.)

The men installed two new ones, replacing the really old one and putting a new one in my bedroom. They advised that I get two more for the two bedrooms upstairs and wanted to make sure I have a carbon monoxide detector. Since I have two combination CO/smoke alarms, I was good on that one.

I learned that fire extinguishers are usually good for one use only. One of my two (kitchen and laundry room) needed to be refilled. We had used it once — several years ago. Seems it had needed recharging ever since. (Imagine if I had had a fire, reached for it, and it fizzled.) They suggested I take it to Northern Fire and Safety in Traverse City to see if they recharge extinguishers.

Another thing I didn’t realize was that I should use power surge cords instead of regular extension cords. I had two extension cords with multiple plugs, all going into one outlet, which they said pulled a lot of power to that outlet. A power surge cord would handle all the plugs and turn off, like a circuit breaker, if it overloads. Good to know; I’ll throw away the rest.

They counseled me on the hazard posed by storing flammable paint in my closets; but since they cannot be kept outdoors in the winter (I keep them in my storage shed in the summer), they agreed that I had no other option. They did say that they were stored correctly — closed tightly, no can on its side, no oily or paint-covered rags, etc.

There were other things they wanted to be sure I knew, like making sure my outdoor dryer vent was not clogged with lint due to the danger of a flash fire. Unfortunately, I knew about that one from previous experience. Years ago, I moved into a home that already had a washer and dryer. I was oblivious to the fact that the dryer was inadequately vented (into a stocking — i.e., panty hose — rather than venting outdoors). My laundry room was just off my kitchen, and one day, I was at the stove when I saw a bright white flash out of the corner of my eye. I looked to my right to see the dryer lit up from underneath. Then it went out. Fortunately I had been standing where I could immediately see it, grateful I had been home when it happened, thinking of all the times I left the house with the dryer running — something you never want to do. That was the end of my dryer. It could have been the end of my house.

Before they left, they gave me a “File of Life” form from the Commission on Aging to fill out with my medical information and keep in its little magnetic cardboard envelope on my refrigerator. If they are called to my home, they will spot it there.

Do call the fire department, 231-334-3279, to set up your appointment. They would much rather do it during these quiet months than in mid-summer, when things are humming in Glen Arbor. Ask for Jay. He’ll set you up. Who knows? You might learn something new. I sure did.