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Don't let fire safety go up in flames
 | | Kim Manion's fourth grade students at Millboro Elementary School started the first day of school by working in the garden with a visit from Ellen Reynolds. As the environmental educator for Mountain Soil and Water Conservation District, she provides programming to schools in Bath, Highland and Alleghany County. Here she demonstrates how to "tickle the roots" before planting broccoli as part of a plant life cycle program.The vegetable garden is part of an ongoing project, paid for by Homestead Preserve, which was planted by the previous fourth-graders and managed over the summer by summer school participants and volunteers. During this program, students harvested cucumbers and planted cool weather vegetables. They also observed a praying mantis on the sunflower fence at the edge of the garden. They learned the praying mantis is a fierce predator in the garden and is a beneficial insect. Manion said, "My class was excited that they had worked on the SOLs without books, paper or pencils."(Photo courtesy MES) |
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RICHMOND - According to the National Fire Protection Association, home heating is the second greatest cause of house fires after cooking. In 2003, heating equipment was involved in an estimated 53,200 reported U.S. home structure fires, with associated losses of 206 occupant deaths, 1,260 occupant injuries and $494 million in direct property damage.
"The tragic thing about this type of fire is that most of them could have been prevented had the homeowner taken the time to make sure their equipment was in proper working order." said Jimmy Maass, safety coordinator for Virginia Farm Bureau.
NFPA will recognize Oct. 7-13 as National Fire Prevention Week.
More and more consumers are looking toward fireplaces and wood-burning stoves to help keep heating costs down this winter. But if those heat devices aren't used safely, families could pay for it, dearly.
When heating with a fireplace or wood stove, Maass suggests the following:
¦ Follow the clearances recommended by local building codes, the stove manufacture of NFPA.
¦ Have chimneys cleaned and inspected on a regular schedule.
¦ Burn seasoned, dry hardwood.
¦ Dispose of ashes in a covered metal container, stored outside of the home on the ground.
¦ Do not burn paper or trash in a fireplace or wood stove.
¦ Do not connect more than one appliance to a single flue.
¦ Do not use gasoline, lighter fluid or other flammable liquids to start a fire indoors.
¦ Do not use artificial logs in a wood-burning stove.
For more information, pick up a Heating with Wood Safely brochure at your county Farm Bureau office.
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