Springtime is a beautiful time of year – but it also begins the lead up to several dangerous weather related seasons. One such dangerous season is fire season, which runs from summer to fall, and is especially threatening to our western states.
The best time to prepare for fire season is before it starts – so here are some tips to help you stay safe during fire season.
If you live in an area that could be threatened by wildfires, you should make sure you have at safety zone of at least 30 feet around your home, and as much as 100 feet if you live in a pine forest. Are your plants fire-resistant? If not, you might consider replacing them with hardwoods. Regularly clean up fallen leaves, pine needles and other plant debris, especially from underneath structures, and trim away tree branches that could touch your roof or are at least 15 feet from a stovepipe. If any tree branches on your property touch power lines, contact your power company to come have them trimmed.
You can make your own disaster preparedness kit, and store items in an easily transportable container, such as a camper’s backpack or a duffel bag. Your kit should have a first-aid kit, some canned food and an opener, a battery powered radio and flashlight with plenty of extra batteries. You should also have a supply of drinking water; experts recommend about three gallons per person. You might also consider stashing away a small amount of cash in your disaster kit. Some weather resistant clothing – such as ponchos and rain boots – may also come in handy. Include copies of all your most important documentation in the disaster kit, such as insurance policies, wills, birth and marriage certificates, credit card and banking information, titles and deeds to your property. Place these items in waterproof bags in the kit, or in a fireproof safe, if you have one. As a double precaution, send copies of your important documentation to a relative or friend who lives in another state or region.
If you haven’t prepared a household inventory, it is also advisable to do this, and you can do it either with a video camera, a Polaroid or digital camera or by taking notes. Include copies of the tapes or notes in your water- or fire-proof safe havens.
September 11, 2001 was day that would have been remembered for its beautiful weather. Then, at 8:46 a.m., 5 hijackers crashed American Airlines flight 11 into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, and our worlds changed forever.
In the chaos that followed, the first responders of New York City and Washington, D.C. rushed headlong into the burning buildings in an attempt to save the people trapped inside, despite knowing the immense danger they were placing themselves in. Over the course of that day, a total of 411 first responders were killed – 341 firefighters, 60 police officers, and 10 paramedics.
We wanted to take some time today to share some sites with stories to remember and honor these heroes, check out the links below to read more about a few of the people who went above and beyond the call of duty on that day:
I ran across this amazing story through a Facebook posting, which led to the Clarion Ledger from Jackson, MS.
This a story of true heroism, and should remind us all why we need to take time to appreciate all that firefighters are willing to risk to save a life.
At CalCas – we truly enjoy putting together programs that allow us to offer help to firefighters, educators, nurses, and peace officers. One such program was the “Help your Fire Station” contest we ran earlier this year.
In January, Mike Stopa, a firefighter and EMT (and also the VP of the Medina Township Firefighters Association) won $500 that his station will use to replenish their fire prevention materials.
For more information, you can read the newspaper article here. To keep up to date with upcoming contests, be sure to join us on Facebook or Twitter.
At California Casualty, we’re proud of the fact that we provide amazing service to groups that contribute so much to our community. Firefighters are one of those groups, and the Firefighter App from the San Ramon Valley Fire Department is an example of the great things these guys do on a daily basis.
This app, which is currently available for iPhone (Workday is helping develop the app for other platforms), alerts users when an emergency is happening in their area. This means that those trained in CPR and/or the use of AED’s in the area can respond – saving minutes that could result in saving a life.
You can see the screen shot of the app below, and I encourage you to visit their site, learn more, and look for it coming to your area soon!
Springtime is a beautiful time of year – but it also begins the lead up to several dangerous weather related seasons. One such dangerous season is fire season, which runs from summer to fall, and is especially threatening to our western states.
This a story of true heroism, and should remind us all why we need to take time to appreciate all that firefighters are willing to risk to save a life.
