HOULTON — The Houlton Rotary Club was recently visited by Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone, who spoke on Fire Prevention Week.
In his experience, Cone has found this to be the most important part of their job — to educate children and adults on preventing fires and what to do in case a fire occurs. Cone first started as a volunteer firefighter in 1976. The Houlton Fire Department currently has 30 firefighters which adds up to over 500 years experience.
Contributed photo/Michael Clark
GUEST SPEAKER — Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone, center, was the featured speaker at the Houlton Rotary Club recently. With Cone are Rotary President Amy Hocking and Rotarian Pete Howe.
Cone is also the cemetery director and oversees the Houlton Ambulance. Cone said he wanted to thank all the businesses that support the fire department. He discussed the use of smoke alarms and carbon detectors. He said that the best ones are wired into your home with battery back up and to always check your alarms and change the batteries as needed.
He estimated that 62 percent of homes either have no alarm or one that is not working. Those who have a working alarm have 50 percent less chance of perishing in a fire.
In a “dream” world, everyone would have sprinklers. You now can hook up a six sprinkler system fairly inexpensively to install but please have it done by a professional.
The most often cause of home fires are: furnace, electric box, woodstove, dryers and the kitchen. Many of these can be reduced tremendously by having them cleaned or having them inspected on a regular basis.
One thing that can be done with your dryer is look down into the lint catcher and also to take the hose off and check for any back up.
Also, he mentioned the importance of following the manufacturer’s directions on all units, but especially as it gets colder on your heaters.
Many people use smaller heaters in areas that really are not safe, protect yourself and put on another layer of clothes instead of risking a fire. The Houlton Rotary Club would like to give a big thank you to the Houlton Fire and Ambulance, you do a great job and we appreciate it!
