Fire & Community Safety

-E.D.I.T.H-

EXIT..DRILLS..IN..THE..HOME

Practice and confidence in an escape plan can save the lives of family members if a fire ever occurs in your home. House fires account for 80% of the fires in the United States and the majority of fire injuries and fatalities.

The City of North Platte Fire Department has prepared these instructions to assist families in the preparing and practicing Exit Drills In The Home.

Step 1 – Floor Plan

Use a grid to draw a floor plan of your home. Mark all of the exits from each such as doors and windows. Draw two escape routes from each room, especially the bedrooms which usually have only one common hallway.

Have all family members assist in preparing the drawing to bring their attention to door and window exits from each room.

Select and mark a meeting place outside the home for all family members to gather and remain. Have a neighbor’s house selected from which to call the fire department.

Step 2 – Discuss your plan

Every member should be familiar with your plan and the two escape routes from every room in the house. Know the emergency number for the fire department. In Lincoln and Lancaster County, the number is 911. Sleeping with bedroom doors closed at night will slow the spread of deadly fire, smoke and heat. When following your escape route, be sure to close doors behind you. Make sure everyone knows the sound of the smoke detector and small children are not afraid of the sound.

Step 3 – Practice your escape plan

Have everyone get into bed and sound the smoke detector. Each person should roll out of bed and crawl to the door. Feel the door with the back of the hand – if it is hot, use the second escape route. If the door is cool, open the door slowly and look for smoke or fire in the hallway. If the hall is clear, follow the escape plan to your meeting place outside the house. Count heads at the meeting place and send someone to call the Fire Department from the neighbor’s home. If a family member is missing in an actual fire, DO NOT reenter the house. The person may be out of the house, but not at the meeting place. Reentering the house has resulted in many people dying needlessly in rescue attempts. Meet the Fire Department in front of the house and direct firefighters to the area of the house where a person may be located. If you live in a large apartment building, practice using the stairs as an escape route. Elevators should never be used as the heat from a fire can cause the elevator to go to the fire floor.

Step 4 – Review your plan

Regular review of your plan develops habits that enable you to react correctly in an actual fire. When you go on trips, “Plan to Get Out Alive” in your motel, or when staying with friends or relatives.

E.D.I.T.H Home Exit Plan     Home Fire Safety Checklist     Smoke Detector Locations

-Close Before You Doze Campaign-

MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE A CLOSED DOOR MAKES IN A FIRE. YOU CAN CHANGE THAT.

Join The “Close Before You Doze” Campaign

In case of fire, a closed door can isolate the fire’s flow of direction, reduce room temperature, and keep carbon monoxide levels down. “Close Before You Doze” aims to make closing doors at night part of people’s bedtime routine. Due to new building materials and synthetic home furnishings, fires reach their peak flashover temperatures 10 times faster now, than they did 20 to 30 years ago. By making sure to close you and your family members doors before you ‘doze’, along with working smoke detectors; you will GREATLY increase your survivability in the event of a fire. Thus giving you precious seconds to get out of your home. In the event you are unable to get out, having a closed door to the room you are occupying gives US (the fire department) time to get in and rescue YOU or YOUR Family members!!

 

 

-HEART ATTACK RECOGNITION-

Warning Signs of Heart Attacks-

Brain Death – Remember that the American Heart Association stresses that brain death occurs after 4 to 6 minutes with a lack of Oxygen.

Time is Muscle – Early detection / Notification is Critical! Call 9-1-1

Sudden vs. Slow onset of warning signs – Some heart attacks are sudden and intense,” where no one doubts what’s happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren’t sure what’s wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

Chest discomfort – Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

Discomfort in other areas of the upper body – Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back (particularly in-between ones shoulder blades), neck, jaw or stomach.

Shortness of breath – with or without chest discomfort.

Other signs – may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Learn the signs – but remember this: Even if you’re not sure it’s a heart attack, have it checked out. Minutes matter! Fast action can save lives — maybe your own. Don’t wait more than five minutes to call 9-1-1.

Calling 9-1-1 – is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment with the exception of bystander CPR and when available AED.

Emergency medical services – EMS staff can begin treatment when they arrive — up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. The staff are also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. If you can’t access the emergency medical services (EMS), have someone drive you to the hospital right away. If you’re the one having symptoms, don’t drive yourself, unless you have absolutely no other option.

Cardiac Alerts – North Platte Fire and Rescue Paramedics use a portable 12 lead cardiac monitor when a patient is suspected of having a heart attack, Our paramedics will initiate a Cardiac Alert communication to the hospital!

AED and Bystander CPR works – Studies have proved that early – immediate CPR and Defibrillation in a sudden cardiac arrest event GREATLY improves a patients chances of survival!

-STROKE RECOGNITION-

Strokes are the third leading cause of death in America and the No. 1 cause of adult disability. 80% of strokes are preventable; you can prevent a stroke!

WARNINGS SIGNS OF STROKES-

The American Stroke Association says these are the warning signs of stroke:

  • Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
  • Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Act F.A.S.T. (Assessment) (aka Cincinnati scale)

  • FACE Ask the person to smile.Does one side of the face droop?
  • ARMS Ask the person to raise both arms.Does one arm drift downward?
  • SPEECH Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence.Are the words slurred? Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?
  • TIME If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. Call 911 or get to the hospital fast. Brain cells are dying.

Immediately call 9-1-1 – If you or someone with you has one or more of these signs, don’t delay! Immediately call 9-1-1 so an advanced life support ambulance can be sent to or for you. Also, check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms were approximately noticed. With the advancements in stroke care, a patient suffering a stroke with proper recognition can be treated up to 24 hours after onset with little to no deficits. Which makes it very important for early detection, action, and treatment!

Stroke Alerts – NPFD and GPH have partnered and have implemented the Stroke Alert System. If any of the signs and symptoms during our initial assessment are positive for signs of a stroke, NPFD’s paramedics will initiate a Stroke Alert to the GPH-Emergency Department.

-Stop The Bleed Program-

Unfortunately it has all become to common in the past 5 – 10 years mass causality incidents occurring in our country. In response to these incidents, agencies have put together teams to respond to these incidents. Yet people are still dying from their wounds suffered in these events. Which some are not preventable, some are. This is where the Stop the Bleed Program comes in. *The “Stop the Bleed” campaign was initiated by a federal interagency workgroup convened by the National Security Council Staff, The White House. The purpose of the campaign is to build national resilience by better preparing the public to save lives by raising awareness of basic actions to stop life threatening bleeding following everyday emergencies and man-made and natural disasters.

Why Learn?

A bleeding injury can happen anywhere. We’ve all seen it happen too often—on the news or in everyday life. Life-threatening bleeding can happen in people injured in serious accidents or disasters. Instead of being a witness, you can become an immediate responder because you know how to stop bleeding.

What You’ll Gain from the Course

The person next to a bleeding victim may very well be the one who’s most likely to save him or her from bleeding to death. By learning how to Stop the Bleed, you’ll gain the ability to recognize life-threatening bleeding and act quickly and effectively to control bleeding once you learn three quick techniques. Take the Stop the Bleed course and become empowered to make a life or death difference when a bleeding emergency happens.

Who Can Take the Course

A Stop the Bleed course is for people who are interested in learning this lifesaving skill. The American College of Surgeons Stop the Bleed campaign has trained over 1 million people including students, teachers, and community groups. We are committed to training anyone who is old enough to understand what the course teaches and is interested in learning how to stop the bleed and save a life.

Where can I find a Stop the Bleed course?

The Stop the Bleed website contains upcoming courses. Use our Find a Course tool to search for one that’s near you. Courses are updated on a regular basis, so you can check back again if you don’t find a course that matches your schedule or is close by. If you don’t find a course in your town or city, try searching by zip code or state.

Seconds Save Lives.  Sign up Today!  Code Red has been replaced by Alerts powered by Smart911.

Smart911 enables households to enter vital personal and medical information you would want response teams such as EMS, FIRE, and PD to have in the event of an emergency such as:

  • With Smart911, you can provide 9-1-1 call takers and first responders critical information you want them to know in any kind of emergency.
  • When you call 9-1-1, your Smart911 Safety Profile displays on the 9-1-1 screen and the 9-1-1 call takers can view your addresses, number of occupants in your home including- children, the elderly, special needs, and/or someone who has a disability such as physically or mentally.), medical information, home information, description of pets and vehicles, and emergency contacts. You can provide as much or as little information as you like.
  • Smart911 is a national service meaning your Smart911 Safety Profile travels with you and is visible to any participating 9-1-1 center nationwide.

A vital component of Smart911 is Rave Alerts powered by Smart911.  This is the official emergency notification system used by the North Platte 911 Center to communicate with Lincoln County and Gothenburg residents during emergencies. Sign up now to receive free alerts from the North Platte 911 Center via text message, email, and/or voice message.

  • Add your address to receive weather alerts specific to your location.
  • Indicate what types of alerts you want to receive including weather, traffic, emergency, and more.
  • Indicate how you want to be notified by text, email, and/or voice message.

If you already have a Smart911 account, you will need to update your preferences to receive alerts. Click here www.Smart911.Com to log in to your account.

For more information, call the Police Department business office during office hours at 308-535-6789.