Ely Fire Department

As we get closer to fire safety month, the Ely Fire Department wants everyone to practice fire safety. Remember your EDITH (Exit Drills in the Home – ask any 4th grader that went to the College Community School district in 3rd grade for what this entails :-)) plan. Simple things like keeping flammable materials away from open flames, not letting kids play or use lighters or matches and having working fire extinguishers can go a long ways to keeping you and your family safe.

The relative risk of individuals aged 65 and over dying in a fire is 2.6 times greater than that of the general population. The risk worsens as age increases. The risk of dying in a fire soars to 4.4 times of those adults over the age of 84.

Older adults are more vulnerable in a fire than the general population due to a combination of factors including mental and physical frailties, greater use of medications and elevated likelihood of living in a poverty situation.

The leading cause of fire deaths in older adults is smoking and the leading cause of fire injuries in older adults cooking.

Following are a few simple tips to keep you and those you love fire safe:

Don’t leave smoking material unattended and never smoke in bed.

Never leave cooking unattended. Use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.

Reference: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/focus/mar_2012_olderadult.pdf

Take shelter immediately when the Fire/Emergency sirens sound continuously for three minutes!

Ely’s Fire/Emergency sirens sound for three continuous minutes when there is a severe weather event like a tornado or severe thunderstorm with dangerous winds in the area.  Go to shelter in a windowless room in your basement or the lowest level of your house immediately when the siren sounds for 3-minutes. Take shelter in the innermost room of the lowest level of your home if you do not have a basement. After you are safely in shelter check local radio, TV or other local media for more information on the weather emergency.

Linn County Emergency Management Agency (LCEMA), in partnership with our trained weather spotters, will closely monitor the weather conditions and activate the sirens from the Ely Fire Department when dangerous high winds or tornadoes become a threat to the area. During radar indicated weather situations, LCEMA directs our weather spotters to activate the sirens when needed.  An “All-Clear” siren will sound for 1 continuous minute once the severe weather event has passed.

The Ely Volunteer Fire Department tests the sirens the last Monday of the month.  During the test you will hear one short buzz for sound, followed by a voice warning that will cycle 3 times – once for each siren in Ely.