Sacramento Fire wants you to know about apartment fire safety
As the number of renters increase alongside apartment developments across Sacramento, fire officials say it’s important for each resident to have a fire safety plan.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Apartment fires pose different sets of challenges compared to house fires, according to Sacramento Fire Department fire marshal Jason Lee.
“When we talk about a multifamily dwelling like apartments or hotels, motels, those are more concerning (fires) because we have a higher density of folks living there,” he said.
With the number of accessary dwelling units and other non-traditional housing increasing in the Sacramento area, many new residents may not have the knowledge or equipment necessary when responding to a fire.
Both Lee and Captain Parker Wilbourn of Sacramento Metro Fire shared some tips with ABC10 on being prepared for a potential fire in your apartment or dwelling.
equipment
Fire officials advise keeping an all-purpose MultiChem Fire Extinguisherwhich is able to put out three types of fire:
- trash
- Wood and paper, liquids
- Electrical equipment
While some people might place the fire extinguisher near where they believe a fire could happen, Wilbourn said it is important the fire extinguisher doesn’t get stuck behind a wall of flames.
“A good spot for your fire extinguisher would be in your pantry or in a hall closet, something along those lines,” he said. “We see a lot of times people put their extinguisher directly underneath the stove or in the cabinet right next to the stove thinking that’s close by, but that’s not necessarily the best place.”
By the 1980s, new apartment developments required built-in sprinkler systems. Inspectors look out for this when assessing fire code compliance.
Fire and carbon monoxide detectors could run out of battery without your knowledge, so Lee said residents should regularly check their detectors to make sure they aren’t out of power. Batteries should be changed out at least twice a year
escape route
It’s important to establish a meet-up spot and back-up meeting spot somewhere outside the home for the family to gather in case of a fire. The benefits of having an escape route include:
- Establishing at least two places in each room of the home to escape from
- Knowing where to meet your family
- Focusing on getting yourself to safety, as your family knows their escape route
- Helping firefighters account for people in the home.
“It gives us better situational awareness, so we’ll be going into it knowing everybody’s out of the fire and we can make our primary focus extinguishment,” said Wilbourn. “A search is always going to be important, but if we know everybody’s out of the building and accounted for around the unit, that also helps us.”
Fires
When it comes to more common fires, like grease fires, water should not be used as an extinguisher. The best option is to turn off the stove or other fuel source, smother the fire and deprive it of oxygen.
One of the most important fire responses is knowing when to walk away for your own personal safety, fire officials said, and no item is worth saving over your life.
“A fire extinguisher is really great for a small fire the size of a small trash container, trash receptacle,” said Lee. “If it’s a larger fire, or if the kitchen fire involving grease or something of that nature where it’s a bigger fire, then that’s something that we really want folks to try to focus on getting out rather than fighting the fire.”
WATCH MORE: Man found dead after Carmichael house fire