Every Second Counts: Plan Two Ways Out

Your friends at the Mecklenburg County Fire Marshal's office teach fire prevention and safety every day, but place a special emphasis during October, when the National Fire Protection Association marks Fire Prevention Week.

This year's focus? Family fire escape plans. Your business, your child's school, stores where you shop, public buildings -- all have a fire escape plan. Your home needs one, too. Here 8 fast tips for building a strong home fire escape plan.

  1. Draw a map of your home. Include all windows and doors. Have you thought about how many windows you have in your home? Have you ever thought about a window being a way out? 
  2. Find two ways out of every room. Go to each room in your home with your family and point to the two ways out. It is important to plan at least two ways out of every room in case fire or smoke is blocking one way out. 
  3. Make sure you can use all your ways out. Test all possible exits. Make sure all windows and doors can be opened easily from the inside. This includes barred doors and windows. Choose security bars that have easy to-use quick-release devices. Make sure everyone in the home can open them. 
  4. Make sure your doors and windows are not blocked. Remove anything that could stop you from getting out. Clearing the areas will allow a quick escape. 
  5. Choose an outside meeting place in front of your home. Be sure the meeting place is a safe distance away at the front of your home. This will help the firefighters find you. The meeting place should be something that will not move, such as a tree or a light pole. 
  6. Go over your plan with everyone in your home. It is important to include everyone in your home when making your home fire escape plan. Choose a time when everyone is home and have a meeting to go over the plan. It is also important to talk about your plan with overnight guests. 
  7. Plan to assist anyone who needs help getting outside. There might be special considerations to be made for a young child, an older adult, or a person with a disability. Assign someone to help them get outside. 
  8. Test your smoke alarms to be sure they are working. If the smoke alarm does not sound when tested, install a new battery. If it still does not work, replace the alarm. Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm.

More information on home fire escape plans is available at www.nfpa.org.

Construction Beginning Adjacent to Code Enforcement's Suttle Avenue Headquarters

Code Enforcement's headquarters will soon be impacted by construction on the northwest corner of Suttle Avenue and Wilkinson Boulevard -- just across Suttle Avenue from our offices. The site, which is currently vacant, will become home to a residential complex. While construction is ongoing, on-street parking on Suttle Avenue may be quite limited. 

Not to worry -- there is plentiful parking in our parking lot. The spaces closest to the front (or north-facing side) of the building are reserved for our customers. We also have plentiful handicapped parking available directly in front of the building. The easiest way to find our reserved customer parking is to enter our parking lot from Suttle Avenue and drive toward the flagpoles at the front entrance of the building. Our reserved customer parking is marked with white signs. All visitors to our building are welcome to use this reserved parking. County and city employees do not park in these spaces.

While we anticipate that our parking lot will be able to accommodate all staff and visitors during construction, traffic flow on Suttle Avenue may be impacted, and during large meetings the parking lot may be more occupied than it normally is. Please allow a few extra minutes to deal with these issues. 

November 1 Residential Consistency Meeting Canceled

Due to an unavoidable conflict, the November 1st Residential Consistency meeting has been canceled. The November 7th Commercial Consistency meeting will proceed as scheduled. 

Mark Your Calendars: Nov. 6th Consistency Brown Bag Lunch