photo by: Photo by Shelley Hanson

Triadelphia resident Patricia Harris receives fire safety information from Wheeling Fire Department Capt. Toby Bachman on Tuesday outside of the Mount de Chantal Kroger.

WHEELING — The Wheeling Fire Department is educating adults and children alike about fire safety and conducting home fire drills this week.

Some of the department’s members, including Assistant Fire Chief Deric Jamison, were set up in front of the Mount de Chantal Kroger on Tuesday afternoon. They handed out fire safety information along with pens, pencils and other trinkets with safety messages on them.

National Fire Prevention Week is held also in commemoration of the great Chicago fire of 1871 during which more than 300 people died and 17,000 structures burned.

This year’s campaign is titled “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.”

“This is the perfect time to check your smoke detectors and to know two ways out of your house. … If the main exit is blocked what is the backup plan? How am I going to get out of here?” Jamison said of the questions families need to answer.

He also suggests that people occasionally practice fire drills in their own homes and pick a meeting spot outside the home that everyone in the family knows to go in case of a fire or emergency.

“The kids hopefully will react the way that they’ve practiced,” he said. “Kids learn more if they have an interactive hands-on experience. If you have a fire drill with them have them help you test the alarm. Let them know what it sounds like. Actually practice meeting at your meeting place outside.”

Regarding smoke alarms, Jamison said smoke detectors should be situated 10 feet from the cooking appliance. Those who have issues with sensitive smoke alarms near their kitchens may want to look into a heat detector alarm, he said.

“It will alarm just the same as a smoke detector, but it’s a temperature control. It’s either a fixed temperature it gets to or a rate of rise. If it gets really cold and it gets hot really fast that’s what will trip the rate of rise,” he said.

Jamison also noted fall is the time of year that people begin using space heaters before turning on their furnaces. He said space heaters should always be plugged directly into a wall outlet, not into an extension cord or multi-plug outlet. Three feet of clearance is needed around a space heater. Space heaters should never be used while sleeping as one can accidentally throw a blanket, sheet or pillow on it in the middle of a night, sparking a fire.

“It’s been decades ago, but someone got too warm and kicked the sheets off. It got up against the space heater and the house burned from that,” he said.

“Everyone managed to escape and no one was hurt, but their house burned. You never want to sleep with one on. If you’re going to bed, shut it off.”

Jamison also said if a fire does occur, people should not go back into a structure once they escape. It is also recommended that people sleep with their bedroom doors closed at night to give some protection from a potential house fire. This allows the smoke from a fire to trip an alarm and wake a person up, allowing for escape.

The fire department plans to be set up outside of the Elm Grove Riesbeck’s from 1-3 p.m. today; outside of the Centre Market House from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday; and at the Warwood Kroger from 1-3 p.m. Thursday.

Firefighters already visited a few schools in the Ohio County this week to educate students.

Other tips from the fire department include:

∫ Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home. Smoke alarms should be interconnected so when one sounds, they all sound.

∫ Make sure your escape plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.

∫ Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows open easily.

∫ Have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home where everyone should meet.

∫ Practice home fire drills at least twice a year with everyone in the household, especially children. Practice at least once during the day and at night.