It was a cold, late fall morning as I read the Washington Post about ten years ago. The Metro Section had an article about a couple escaping a burning home on Dominion Way in Falls Church…
I took a sip of coffee. “Dominion Way, don’t I have clients on that street?”, I thought.
“Right, I should call Scott and Jeannie to see if they saw it.”
So I hopped in my car and drove over to see which house it was. It was theirs!
Since then, I have reminded clients during National Fire Protection Week to check their smoke detectors, replace old smoke detectors with new ones that include hall lights, replace 9-volt batteries, make an escape plan, and be careful when grilling or using candles.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) supports all of those programs that your children learn in school or read about during those fire station open-houses… there is probably one in your community this weekend and you should stop by and get some fire safety tips or suggestions. Click on “Sparky” to see all of their material.
As it turned out, Scott and Jeannie were sound asleep at 2:30 in the morning when Jeannie smelled smoke. She sent Scott to peek out the window and he saw flames leaping up the side of their neighbor’s town home. They hopped out of bed and ran out of the house safely. I can clearly remember asking her about the experience and she did not remember hearing her smoke detectors going off.
Please do me a favor, check those smoke detector batteries, press the test button, and consider replacing any smoke detector that is over seven years old.
The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department open-house takes place on a Saturday in October.
