Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, October 5, 2010,
Item 3
Item number three is to approve proclamation declaring october 3 through 9, 2010 as fire prevention week in travis county. And there's our fire marshal. Should i read it or did you hope to cover all the facts in your presentation?
>> if you will read it, i won't have have to cover them. Either way will be fine with me, judge. Would you please read it?
>> it reads, whereas travis county is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all of those living and visiting our county, whereas fire is a serious public safety concern both locally and nationally and homes are where people are at greatest risk to fire. Whereas nearly 3,000 people die as a result of home fires each year. Whereas roughly one-third of home fire deaths resulted from home fires in which no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms were present. Whereas working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a reported fire in half. Whereas the national fire protection association recommends at least one smoke alarm on every level of the home, outside all living areas, and in all bedrooms. Whereas informing the public about the importance of smoke alarm installation and maintenance serves as the central step forward, increasing the public safety from home fires. Whereas travis county's fire responders are dedicated to reducing the occurrence of home fires and home fire deaths and injuries through prevention and proper education. Whereas travis county's residents are responsive to public education measures and are able to take personal responsibility to increase their safety from fire, especially in their homes, and whereas the fire prevention week 2010, october 3 through 9 theme, smoke alarms, a sound you can live with, actively works to motivate travis county residents to implement smoke alarm recommendations in their homes. Now therefore be it resolved that we the travis county commissioners court proclaim october 3 through 9, 2010 as fire prevention week in travis county and encourage all residents of travis county to check their smoke alarms. And this doesn't say it, but if they find them faulty or disabled, to replace them with a new one.
>> that's correct, judge. Herschel lee, travis county fire marshal. Thank you for the proclamation. This is a time of year we want to emphasize to people to -- to remind people that it's a time to check your smoke detectors. We asked that you do that every month, just push the button until the alarm sounds. At least once a month. Change the battery at least once a year, but preferably twice a year. And we use the points where we normally change our clocks back and forth for daylight savings time as a time to remember that. Someone asked me one time, well, dad, what do you want for christmas? You have everything. I said just buy me a battery. So if you have parents or friends that have everything already and you don't know what to buy them, buy them a smoke detector, buy them a bat rained show that you care. Remind them to test those. Homes with working smoke detectors have found -- been found to reduce the life lost by at least one half. Many of the homes that we go to where we're ininvestigating fire, one of the things we always ask is did you hear the smoke detector going off and when they did, typically when they find the remains of the detector, there was no battery associated with it. It had been removed. Intending to go buy a new battery, new gefer getting to that or the battery was needed for a toy or some other reason. Leave those batteries in there and test those detectors. It's also the time of year when weather is changing and the number one cause of fire in homes is cooking. And the number one cause of dmeth a home is heating equipment and open flames such as candles. Those are things that we can prevent by having our home heating systems tested and checked and being very careful with open flames such as candles in a home. This is the time of year to self assess our homes and to remember to be careful. Thank you for your proclamation.
>> and they cost how much?
>> four to $24 depending on the type you want to buy.
>> the austin fire department was giving them away free last year.
>> there are a number of large corporations that as a thing that they give away every year, typically they will provide five or 600 to an agency. And then that agency will go to a where a person is not physically capable of having a detector installed or maintain and many agencies will go and install those for those people. So there are a number of programs out there where smoke detectors can be obtained at no cost.
>> and the last real tragedy we had that involved lack of a smoke detector was a grandmother who was baby-sitting grandchildren and they weren't aware of the fire and i think the kids were injured or --
>> correct. Most of the people who actually die in a fire are not actually burned. They die from smoke inhalation in a room other than where the fire originated.
>> now, we recently had a fire in an apartment where the individual survived, they jumped out the window. What are the requirements for apartments to have smoke detectors?
>> the international fire code, which is for unincorporated travis county, will require -- for new construction will require that smoke detectors be installed on every level, in every sleeping area and in a common area outside the sleeping areas. And the new code rirms are that if one alarm goes off that every alarm within that living unit will go off at the same time. So --
>> but older apartments are not required to have the smoke detectors?
>> some of the older apartments and the smaller buildings where the retroactive clauses of the fire code, they would have installed those originally, but the maintenance is sometimes lacking.
>> is there one location to go to to find places where you can get discounted or free smoke detectors?
>> the united states fire administration website will have information about every fire department in the united states, and either through there you will be able to link to a local agency or if it's something -- a question of having for travis county you can call my office. If it's an area where we are the authority having jurisdiction we will find the information for you. Or if it's the city of austin we will refer you over to the city of austin fire marshal's office.
>> and the telephone number, herschel?
>> 512-854-8621. And i need not that we have a table sitting out front with giveaways, things to help teach your children about home fire safety and reminders. Pens, puzzles, note pads with the fire marshal's office and phone number on it and they're all outside. If you have questions about home fire safety, portable fire extinguishers, things like that, there are staff out there that will be willing to discuss those things with you.
>> how do we tie those things into fire prevention?
>> well, cooking is the number one cause of residential fire.
>> [ laughter ]
>> good job.
>> all in favor? That passes by unanimous vote.
>> thank you for not forgetting to pick up your resolution there.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, October 5, 2010 2:27 PM
