‘Tis the season and more

    The Fair has come and gone, leaves are starting to change, harvesters are hitting the fields, and the first day of autumn is here. Summer is officially over and it is time to prepare for the coming seasons. For those of us lucky enough to live in Aroostook County it means getting ready for the heating season.     The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) gives us the following facts. In 2006, U.S. fire departments responded to 396,000 home fires. These fires caused 2,580 civilian deaths, 12,500 civilian injuries and $6.8 billion in direct damage. Heating equipment fires accounted for 16 percent of all reported home fires (second behind cooking) and 11 percent of home fire deaths. Fireplaces or chimneys rank first in the number of fires among types of heating equipment. Most of these were caused by creosote buildup.
Lack of, or poor maintenance is the common cause for malfunctions with heating systems.
    To give yourself some peace of mind here are some tips to keep your system working properly depending on the type of system you have:
• Have your oil-burning furnace serviced and inspected by a licensed professional.
• Inspect your woodstove and pipes for any cracks or defective parts.
• Whenever possible only burn seasoned firewood.
• Clean your chimney to prevent creosote buildup.
• Clean and inspect your pellet stove and pipes according to the manufacturer’s recommendation.
    The next check should be your smoke detectors. You should inspect and test all your detectors monthly. You should periodically vacuum your detectors to keep them clear of dust and cobwebs. The NFPA recommends that you change the batteries in your smoke detectors yearly when you change your clocks in the fall.
    October 7-13th is Fire Prevention Week 2007. “Practice Your Escape Plan!” is the theme this year. The fire department has several activities planned during the week for the schools. We will wrap up the week here at the station with an open house on Saturday Oct. 13th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with tours and fire safety activities through out the day. You can access Sparkey’s fire safety tips and games at, www.nfpa.org, click on the section for Fire Prevention Week and follow the links. You will also find valuable safety tips on our Web site at www.pifd.org.
    On a final note, we need your help. We have a consistent problem with vehicles not pulling over to yield the right of way when we are operating with lights and sirens. Our response is often delayed because vehicles do not clear out of intersections or lanes in front of our trucks. Vehicles try to beat us to intersections to turn left or simply refuse to pull to the right. We try to avoid pulling out into approaching lanes at all times because of the danger. We also do not like to pull around vehicles on the right because it confuses the traffic ahead of us that is pulling to the right like the law states. If you look in your mirror and see an emergency vehicle approaching, please pull as far to the right side of the road as possible. Be aware that frequently there is more than one emergency vehicle traveling together so before you pull back into your travel lane check and make sure it is safe to continue. We only operate with lights and sirens to actual emergency calls so please be considerate and pull over, we may be going to help someone you know.
    Richard Wark is deputy fire chief for the Presque Isle Fire Department. He can be reached at 769-0881 or online at deputychief803@maine.rr.com.