Staying Prepared for Fire Prevention

For many people, October is about fall festivals, changing leaves and crisp weather. What most people do not know, however, is that October is also Fire Prevention Month and the American Red Cross encourages individuals to take steps to lessen the risk of a fire in their home. Unfortunately, many people learn quickly just how devastating a fire can be. Red Cross volunteers have witnessed firsthand not only the physical damaging effects caused by fires, but also the emotional damage people experience as a result.

Disaster victim meets with Red Cross Disaster workers at the scene of an apartment fire.

During Fire Prevention Month, the Red Cross reminds everyone of the steps they should take if a fire breaks out in their own home.

The most important thing to remember if facing a fire is to:
GET OUT, STAY OUT and CALL 9-1-1 (or local emergency number).


Other important safety tips include:

To Prevent a Home Fire...
-Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.
-Test them every month and replace the batteries at least once a year.
-Talk with all household members about a fire escape plan and practice the plan twice a year.
-Turn portable heaters off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
-Keep items that can catch on fire at least three feet away from anything that gets hot, such as space heaters.

In Case of a Fire...
-Crawl low under smoke.
-Go to your outside meeting place and then call for help.
-If closed doors or handles are warm, use your second way out. Never open doors that are warm to the touch.
-Use caution when using a portable fire extinguisher.

Remember the word PASS when using the extinguisher:

Pull the pin and hold the extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you.

Aim low. Point the extinguisher at the base of the fire.

Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly.

Sweep the nozzle from side to side.

A Red Cross volunteer offers assistance with a victim of a home fire.

For more information on disaster and emergency preparedness, please visit http://eastgeorgia.redcross.org/ or call the chapter house at 706-353-1645.
(All photos courtesy of redcross.org)


By: Helen Farmakis, Public Affairs Intern

Student Organization sets goals for blood drives

Yesterday, Students for the American Red Cross (SARC) kicked off their three-day blood drive, “Don’t be afraid of the dark, come donate with SARC.” The event, which continues through Wednesday, October 19, 2011 from 11 am to 5 pm, takes place in the Memorial Hall ballroom on the University of Georgia campus. It is one of four that the organization has planned for the year.

SARC is a student-run organization that represents the American Red Cross on the University of Georgia campus. Students are responsible for planning and volunteering at the drive, which includes registration, manning both the prize table and canteen stations.

The drive offers great incentives aside from the feeling of giving back. Participants will get door prizes like t-shirts, drawstring bags, and candy. Additionally, anyone who registers, whether or not they make it through the process, will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win two tickets to the football game between rivals University of Georgia and University of Florida.

SARC has some big goals for its Halloween blood drive. “Our goal is to collect 87 pints of blood the first day, 97 the second day and 116 the third day,” says volunteer coordinator and SARC member Norman Ton. “We'll need 360 or so donors to make that goal.”

Each unit of blood collected can help save the lives of three people, and Blood Services director and American Red Cross employee Janet Jarrett stresses that much of the blood collected will be used to help children.

“When doctors are working on our smallest patients, they want to use blood [donated by] the youngest people possible,” she says. “Every single blood drive is important; every single day we have to collect the blood that we have on the books.”