Clallam County Fire Marshal is announceing that a county-wide burn ban will take effect Thursday July 1st, 2010. The burn ban will remain in effect until October 1, 2010, unless conditions at that time require the ban to be extended.
This burn ban is strongly supported by the Clallam County Chiefs Association. Every summer, emergency response agencies respond to a significant number of outdoor burn incidents and complaints. A majority of these responses are due to confusion with the current status of burning regulations. In order to reduce the confusion that has surrounded multiple burn bans during previous summer periods, this ban will take effect annually on July 1st, ending October 1st.
This burn ban applies to outdoor burning only. Recreational fires are still allowed unless further banned by extreme conditions. As has been the law for many years, burn barrels are illegal in the State of Washinton and there is no burning allowed in the City of Port Angeles or any other designated Urban Growth Area.
CHIMNEY FIRE PREVENTION
With the arrival of winter cold weather Fire District Two has recently responded to a number of chimney fires. We have found non-permitted and non-code installed wood stoves in some residences. In others, chimneys have not been cleaned and inspected. In order to protect your home form a potentially disastrous fire; fireplaces, wood stoves and chimneys should be inspected and cleaned annually. To prevent the buildup of creosote, only clean dry firewood should be burned. All installations of new woodstoves should be installed in accordance with Clallam County Building Code by a licensed contractor.
When cleaning a fireplace or wood stove never place ashes in a combustible container such as a plastic bucket or cardboard box. Never assume that the ashes you have disposed of are cold.
Always place a screen in front of open fireplaces to prevent sparks or embers from landing on carpets and flooring.
Close the doors on wood stoves to prevent burning material from falling out and to increase the heating efficiency of the stove.
Never leave a wood burning fire unattended.
CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARMS!
SMOKE ALARMS
Most of us feel that our homes are safe havens from most all dangers. Also, most of us feel house fires happen to other people, not us. The facts are that, at some point in time, we are going to experience a fire related emergency in our home. Smoke detectors have been proven to be a vital life saving tool...if we properly install and maintain them. According to the National Association for Fire Protection in the United States, 96% of households have smoke alarms. But alarms are not present or non-operational in 46% of reported home fires. Working smoke alarms in all homes would save 890 lives each year.
Between 2000 and 2004, home fire deaths occurred in 65% of cases of building fires that had no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Fifty four percent of the inoperable alarms had missing or disconnected batteries.
Nineteen percent of the inoperable alarms had dead or discharged batteries.
Homeowners are encouraged to ensure that their home detectors are cleaned and that fresh batteries are installed every six months. Detectors can be kept clean with the use of a home vacuum cleaner and installation of fresh batteries when we move our clock ahead in the spring and back in the fall as we adjust for daylight savings.
For further information on smoke alarms and other home fire safety information go to www.nfpa.org.
Local Storm Warnings
For local weather and storm warnings visit the National Weather Service at:
The Clallam County Department of Health and Human Services (CCHHS) is in close contact with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding swine influenza in parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The district is working closely with our partners around the state to monitor cases of pneumonia and influenza to see if they're due to this new infection. Health care providers and laboratories in Washington have been asked to watch for influenza, especially in people who traveled to Mexico or other affected areas.
