Farmington Feed: Fire Prevention Open House
This is the Farmington Feed, bringing you information from the city of Farmington.
Caryn:Hi, and welcome back to the Farmington Feed. I'm Caryn Hojnicki, the city's communications specialist, and I'm hungry for another episode of the feed. We have two guests with us today here to discuss fire prevention week. Firefighter Steve Karsten and fire marshal Heath Walker. Welcome.
Steve:Thank you.
Caryn:Thank you. I know Heath you've been on before, and this is your first time, Steve. So we're excited to have you on. Can you guys just tell us and remind us how long you guys have been with the Farmington Fire Department?
Steve:I've been with the Farmington Fire Department for about five years now.
Heath:Okay. I've been with the department eighteen years and a little over seven months in the fire marshal role.
Caryn:Right. Because you're new to that. And how's that going?
Heath:It's going really good. I'm extremely busy, which is good. My days and weeks go by like a blink. Yeah. But I'm I'm enjoying the role.
Caryn:Good. Alright. So my first question will be, what's the most important thing to talk about when we're talking about fire prevention? What do you guys think?
Steve:Safety, especially when you're cooking or in the kitchen, especially if you've got young kids, making sure they know what to do, how to do it, and things to look out for.
Caryn:Okay. For example, like, I don't know. I have three kids, 13, 10 and seven. I'm sure I would apply this rule differently to them, right?
Heath:Yep, it's awareness. When it comes to, like Steve was mentioning, cooking, I think a lot of times we get complacent and we try to multitask. Yeah. So not only are we cooking, we're taking care of kids, we're taking care of pets. We're trying to do maybe small errands around the house and we leave stuff unattended.
Heath:Yeah. And some I mean, that's where we find a lot of stuff will happen when it's unattended.
Caryn:Because they're not at the stove while it's on.
Heath:Right. If you're, you know, if you're frying something and the and the oil gets too hot, If you're baking something and and you forget about it, you know, that can start an oven fire. Yeah. You know, the oil can catch on fire and get out of control.
Caryn:Always set the timer so you remind yourself for the baking. Right?
Heath:Right. I mean, best case scenario would be if you're cooking, then remain cooking. Mhmm.
Steve:Also knowing what to do. So Yeah. Grease gets on the oven. Don't go get water. Yeah.
Steve:And that's some of the stuff that when we do our open house, we show an example of the kitchen fire and what happens when you throw water on it. What's the proper way to take care of that fire versus throw water, watch everything explode, cover it, use baking soda, something else that'll actually suppress the flame and the oxygen.
Caryn:And baking soda is something that everybody has in their kitchen, right, and should be readily available, right?
Steve:Right. In theory, yeah.
Heath:The big thing, you know, it's easy to sit here and say, but try not to panic. Yeah. But when you see when you see fire, it's natural to panic. The more calm and collective you can be, then you'll you'll work through that problem.
Caryn:For sure. I mean, with injuries or fire, like people just start to panic inside. What about those blankets? Are those like fire blankets? Are those a good option for that?
Heath:Everything that I've seen, I mean, haven't done a ton of research on those things, but everything that I have seen on them, they are effective. But honestly, I don't know how many households actually have the fire blankets. Yeah. But might be something good to, you know, to have in the back of your mind to think about. Fire extinguisher would be the big thing.
Caryn:And people don't necessarily know how to use those. Do you guys do some sort of demonstration for that or?
Heath:We're trying to put something together for that. I'm looking at hopefully in the future getting like a digital prop that you can practice. It'll actually be the official weight of an extinguisher. You'll have to use it correctly in order to put the flame out. Yeah.
Heath:So I'm looking at that, but it is expensive.
Caryn:So what would you say is the most frequent call type that you guys get or that you've been on?
Heath:Medical emergencies probably cover 95% of our calls. Yeah. If you're talking fires You're looking at
Steve:maybe 3% for fires. Yeah. Good intent calls, you know, hey, there's a smoke alarm going off. Just safety checks, which we're glad to go on. We'd rather have people call us if they think there's something wrong versus let it get out of control.
Caryn:And when you say call us, this is 9 they just call 9-1-1. There is no, There's non emergency number.
Heath:Right. It's 9-1-1, and then that that dispatches us depending on location, whether it's station one, station two.
Caryn:Yeah. And you guys cover a big area. It's not just Farmington. So I'm sure we talked about this before, but what is it again? How how many?
Heath:Correct. It's like I know it used to be 82 square miles. I think we're down to like eighty eighty square miles.
Caryn:I mean, there's still a lot of coverage.
Heath:A lot of rural.
Caryn:Yeah, for sure. And so what's another important thing that people need to think about?
Steve:If you have an emergency, a meeting place, Especially if you've got kids or pets knowing where to go, make sure they know where to go, what to do. If there's a fire in the home, what is your escape plan? Do you get out right away? Is there something blocking you knowing to shut your door at night?
Caryn:Oh, yeah.
Steve:Because if you're sleeping, having your door closed is gonna give you more protection than leaving it open and just letting something happen.
Caryn:For sure. So you're mentioning fire escape plans. What does that involve? Do you know, families should get together and do what exactly?
Steve:For me, we talk about it. We practice, I'm gonna air quote, practice a drill. So it's just, hey, smoke detector's going off, what do you do? And it's just making sure everybody knows, hey, I say there's a fire in the basement, where are gonna go? So knowing more than one way out and knowing how to get out and then where you're going after you're out to make sure everybody's accounted for.
Caryn:Yeah, for sure. And what would you say is the most things that people don't think about? Like, oh, what about my pet? What about my phone? What about my favorite blanket?
Caryn:You know? Just get out. Right?
Heath:The material things can be replaced.
Caryn:Yeah. Everybody out. That's the most important. What about when you're not at home? Should they you still think about fire escape plans?
Caryn:Like, if say you get an Airbnb or a Vrbo, whatever, and you're somewhere you're you're not familiar with, a hotel.
Heath:Right. And they're supposed to be on, like, on motels, for instance, on the backside of the doors when you close them, there should be a be a map, and it should list your room and where the exits are. Take note of that. Like 90% of people, if they're involved in something like that, they're always gonna try to escape out of this the same way that they came in. Even though there could be an exit right next to them.
Caryn:Yeah.
Heath:But it's something that they didn't notice. Right. They just know here's where I came in at. That's the way I'm getting out.
Caryn:Yeah.
Heath:So be conscious about where your exits are and know that you don't always have to go in the same way or go out the same way you came in.
Caryn:Oh, for sure. Another thing we wanted to mention too is talking about recreational fires and open burns, because there is a difference. And we just wanna let everybody know what's needed when they wanna have a recreational fire and what's needed for an open burn.
Heath:Open burn, you have to get a permit through the DNR, but the city of Farmington still requires an open burn permit through the city. That enables that permit to come across my desk. And then from there I will contact you. I'll come out and take a look at your look at whatever you're gonna burn, where you're burning, what's involved, time of year. You have to be under a 15 mile an hour wind.
Heath:You have to call the 9-1-1 non emergency line. So that's the stuff that goes along with the open burn permit.
Caryn:And does it cost anything for that?
Heath:It's $30.
Caryn:Oh, that's not bad.
Heath:And it's good for thirty days, but if we have inclement weather throughout those thirty days and you cannot burn within those thirty days, then all I ask is you contact me and I work with you on that.
Caryn:Oh, for sure.
Heath:So.
Caryn:Yeah, that's good. And so can we talk about what constitutes a recreational fire then?
Heath:A recreational fire is either a portable fire pit or a stationary one that's like built in a backyard or something. Yep. Got to be 25 feet away from any combustibles. Today with the new housing going up, it's that's extremely hard. I think a lot of people have gone to the portables.
Heath:Mhmm. That's 10 feet away from combustibles. Those you can enjoy driveway. Yep. A lot of people get together in their driveways, have the neighbors It's out and gotta be two by three by three.
Heath:So it's smaller. You can only burn firewood. No construction debris. No trash, cardboard. Yeah.
Heath:It's just strictly firewood.
Steve:No yard waste.
Caryn:Oh, no yard waste.
Heath:Okay. No leaves.
Caryn:Yeah. So, you know, we're just talking about, hey, let's have some s'mores or something small. And that doesn't need a permit or anything. Right?
Heath:No.
Caryn:So what would happen if, say, you saw something that you thought maybe wasn't necessarily like an emergency, but, you know, how should someone handle that? Like, oh, burning something in their backyard, but that doesn't look right.
Steve:Better to be safe than sorry. Call 9-1-1. I mean, call the non emergency number because then you can get potentially Heath or somebody else out that can take a look and let them know, hey, you shouldn't be burning this. This is what you can burn, can't burn. They can talk to them, let them know what the process is.
Caryn:Yeah. For sure.
Steve:Better to be safe than sorry instead of just going, it doesn't look right. I'm gonna ignore it. And then it turns into a bigger issue.
Caryn:For sure. And, you know, when people are having these fires, the number one thing is they need to stay in attendance of them.
Heath:Right? Stay in attendance, have a hose or a means of extinguishment nearby you.
Caryn:Yep. So let's go into our fire prevention week, which this campaign runs October 5-11, but you guys have your fire prevention open house in September. And this year, it's gonna be September 17, from 05:30 to 08:30PM in a new location. It's gonna be at Fire Station 1 this year. Correct?
Caryn:Correct. And they're they have a theme, and their theme this year is "Charge into fire safety lithium ion batteries in your home." So essentially working to educate everyone about using these batteries safely. How does somebody know what's a lithium ion battery? Because I'm sure there are people out there that don't.
Heath:Most of the batteries that are coming with your your battery powered, you know, e bikes Scooters. Scooters
Caryn:Okay.
Heath:Your your little motor your little motorcycles, Those are all gonna contain a lithium ion battery.
Caryn:And are those usually rechargeable? Or
Steve:They're rechargeable and that's where the problem becomes is people plug them in say to a power strip.
Caryn:Oh.
Steve:You shouldn't be doing that because you need it in the wall with a GFI switch because if something pops, it's gonna shut that outlet off versus
Caryn:Oh, yeah.
Steve:You plug it into a power strip, it just sits there, something happens that could cause a fire.
Caryn:Okay.
Heath:And the and the other important item to mention about the lithium ion batteries is that your your cell phones. Okay. It's important to use the charger that came with that phone.
Caryn:Mhmm.
Heath:That phone charger has been listed and designed for that phone. A lot of times you can either get low current or an over overproduction of current Mhmm. On the different aftermarket like Amazon
Caryn:Yeah.
Heath:Chargers, and then that's where you run into problems.
Caryn:Okay. Because that starts a fire just
Heath:Potentially. Yep.
Caryn:Okay. And going with this, so obviously knowing what is lithium ion batteries and how to charge them safely, but what about when they're done? When we're done with them, do you throw them in the garbage?
Heath:Lithium ion batteries should not be thrown in the garbage. It should be taken to a drop off like recycling center.
Caryn:Okay. Why is that?
Steve:They can get super hot. And if they get hot enough, they could explode, which would cause anything like a garbage truck. You've got all kinds of combustible materials in there. Those explode that could ignite all of that, which would cause a fire.
Caryn:Right. And I've heard of that happen in in in not only garbage trucks, but just what at where they dump. Right? Right. Okay.
Steve:So differences you have normal AA batteries. Those you can throw in your trash. You don't wanna throw anything in bulk. So you got a bucket of batteries. You're gonna wanna dispose of those safely at like a recycling center.
Steve:Otherwise, you know, you got a couple batteries here or there. You can definitely just get rid of those as long as they're not lithium ion and nothing in bulk because that's where an issue could come from.
Caryn:Okay. That makes sense. Yeah. This is all great information, but I'm sure, like, there might be groups or organizations out there that wanna learn more. Right?
Caryn:So what would you suggest if, say, a Girl Scout troop wants you guys to come and talk? Like, do they just need to reach out to you via email and say, hey. Can you do a presentation for us or a tour in the station? Or
Heath:Sure. My information can be found on the the city website under the fire department. On the right hand side, my information is there. My telephone number and my email is there, so you could just reach out.
Caryn:And they could just request a visit or tour. Okay. That's awesome. Now fire prevention is not just for the residents. It's also for businesses.
Caryn:Right? So what is the most frequent issue you see with businesses when it comes to fire prevention?
Steve:Biggest issue when it comes to a business with fire prevention. So things like probably blocked exits, not having or blocked sprinkler heads.
Heath:I would say it's just it's it's maintenance of the systems.
Caryn:Okay.
Heath:Your alarm system, your sprinkler system, your your checks on your extinguishers, exit lighting, and exit signs.
Caryn:Yeah. All those things.
Heath:Right. That's basics. Then and then the the use of extension cords.
Caryn:What do you mean by that?
Heath:Your extension cords cannot be used for more than ninety days. They have to be listed. They can't be used in place of permanent wiring.
Caryn:Oh, okay.
Heath:So if you have an extension cord going plugged into an outlet, it goes up the wall into the ceiling, back down to power, let's say a TV, you're using that extension cord as permanent wiring.
Caryn:And they shouldn't be. So
Heath:Yeah. You cannot. It's against Minnesota State Fire Code.
Caryn:Okay. So as a business owner, those are the things that you're going be looking at when you come do a check, right? Correct. Inspection.
Heath:Correct. First things I yeah, I'm going look at sprinklers, exit lighting, exit signage. If you have a sprinkler or alarm system, I'm to make sure that they've been inspected annually. Any deficiencies have been taken care of. So those are just some of the stuff I'm going to be looking at.
Heath:Exit passageways. Make sure that they're clear and not full of debris. You'll find that back of stores. It's you're already limited in storage. They'll put those they'll stack a bunch of stuff up locking mechanisms on doors.
Caryn:Yeah. Okay. And then how do you suggest to those business owners, like how to get their employees on board and understanding? Like, there any requirements on that level?
Heath:So your apartments, senior housing, stuff like that, they have to provide an evacuation plan. There's a schedule that they're supposed to maintain with that.
Caryn:So anything else that we've missed about fire prevention? We talked about residents and businesses. We talked about escape plans. What else?
Heath:It's past the time, but firework safety.
Caryn:That's always something.
Caryn:People are still setting them off random times. Right?
Heath:Right. And it's just to know that if you do, don't put them next to your house. Don't do not throw them away in the garbage. Yep. Water them down.
Heath:Let them sit. I say a minimum twenty four, forty eight hours outside away from any combustibles.
Caryn:Yeah, for sure. I mean, that's number one, like getting them wet, right? Like, people just think, oh, I'll just dip it in, but no, you gotta leave it.
Heath:Right. Those things will smolder for days.
Caryn:Yeah. That's crazy.
Heath:And same with your rec fires. Probably one or two times every year it seems like we'll get somebody who'll have a rec fire. They'll come out that next morning thinking that everything's cool and they'll dump it in their trash. And then they go to work or whatever and next thing you know, trash is on fire.
Caryn:Right.
Heath:So let that let that portable fire pit sit for a few days.
Caryn:Okay.
Heath:Or or water it down.
Caryn:Anything else we should talk about?
Steve:I think we covered a lot of it. Just making sure you know what you're doing, going over things with your family so you have a plan, making sure young kids know, hey, this is is or isn't safe. Because if you don't tell them, they're just gonna assume it's okay.
Caryn:Yeah.
Heath:Smoke alarms.
Caryn:Oh, we did not talk about that.
Heath:Yeah. You know, smoke alarms, they're they're good for ten years. There's a date on the on the inside cover of the smoke alarm. Mhmm. They they're they're good for ten years, and then they have to be replaced.
Steve:Checking your battery twice a year. Right.
Caryn:Okay.
Heath:Or change your batteries twice Change your battery. A Yeah. And then check your smoke alarm.
Caryn:Every month.
Heath:Every month.
Caryn:Yeah. And then also CO detectors. Correct? That's something to think about as well.
Heath:CO needs to be one on every level. Yep. And now you can buy a combination smoke alarm, CO detector.
Caryn:Oh, okay. That's nice. Alright. Well, thank you so much, Steve and Heath, for coming on to discuss this important topic. And so remember to check your batteries monthly and change those batteries twice a year.
Caryn:Before I wrap up today's episode, I wanna share a few items. We did mention the fire prevention open house, which will be Wednesday, September 17 from 05:30 to 08:30 at the new location, Fire Station 1. Don't miss out. Heath, is there anything special, that you wanna mention about this event?
Heath:For sure, come on down. Parking will be across the street at Boeckman Middle School. We'll have traffic control there for everybody. This year, we're going to try to set up our SCBA training
Caryn:What does that mean?
Heath:Conics It's search and rescue.
Caryn:Oh, okay.
Heath:And so the adults, if they wanna go through it, they'll be able to go through it. Kids can go through it and just kinda see that we can black out their mask.
Caryn:Mhmm.
Heath:And then they can we'll show them kind of what we go and do in the situations that we're involved in. We're gonna try to have, weather permitting, we're gonna have some live burns.
Caryn:Okay.
Heath:So people will actually be able to see
Caryn:Using that burn trailer, correct?
Heath:Yep. We have an on-site burn trailer. We're gonna light some pallets and some hay inside. And anybody coming to the open house will be able to watch watch a couple of crews go in and and put out the fire.
Caryn:Oh, awesome. Okay. Great. Always a good time. And then is there, like, a contest that happens at this?
Caryn:They can win something?
Heath:Yes.
Caryn:I feel like I remember that.
Heath:The kids will be able to get like a makeshift bingo card.
Steve:Okay. So it's bingo cards, right? And you go to the different stations and once you get a bingo, you can enter into win a ride home in a fire truck.
Caryn:Oh, that's fun. Is that the do they get the ice cream too with that?
Heath:They get the ice cream.
Caryn:Yep. Get us that sweet treat you
Heath:So gotta they get get the ride home in the fire truck. They get a trip to Dairy Queen.
Caryn:Okay. But they gotta come and they gotta get filled with their bingo card.
Heath:Right.
Caryn:Awesome.
Heath:And I think this year we're gonna try to we're looking into either having some catering done, maybe possibly some food trucks there. Okay.
Caryn:Oh, it'll be a great time. Right. A couple other reminders. Tiger Cub Pep Fest will be immediately following the homecoming parade on Wednesday, September 24 at 421 Walnut Street. This event is sponsored by Farmington Parks and Recreation and Farmington Area Community Ed.
Caryn:Aaron from DJAA Entertainment will be providing music and the entertainment. Join us for this special homecoming event. And then mark your calendar now and register for the annual community blood drive hosted by the Farmington Fire Department. And that will be Thursday, September 25 from 1-7PM at Fire Station 1. Go to redcrossblood.org and enter sponsor code Farmington Fire to register.
Caryn:Well, that concludes this month's episode of the Farmington Feed. Thank you for listening. We look forward to connecting with residents with this podcast. If you've had any feedback, guest requests, or ideas, email me at Communications@FarmingtonMN.gov. Don't forget to subscribe to the Farmington Feed wherever you like to get your podcasts.
