Ten year-old Greece resident, Andrew Trammell, woke up in the early morning hours on June 24, 2023 to the smell of smoke, and the sound of the smoke alarm. He immediately woke the rest of his sleeping family, including a disabled family member, and guided them safely out of the house. He then called 911.
Andrew knew exactly what to do because the family had a plan. “We need people to have things figured out before the emergency. During an emergency is not the time to try to figure anything out. In this case, the family had working alarms and an exit plan, including a plan for their disabled member of the family,” said RRFD Battalion Chief Brian Gebo. Firefighters were there within two minutes and everyone was out of the home safely. Firefighters say Andrew’s quick actions and the family’s planning made their job easier.
On Friday, August 25, 2023, Andrew was honored at the Ridge Road Fire Station. He was presented a “Fire and Life Safety Award Certificate,” followed by a dessert reception in his honor, attended by family, friends and the firefighting community. Andrew was also able to tour the fire station, meet the firefighters and review all of the equipment used in firefighting. He posed, with a huge smile, for pictures behind the wheel of a firetruck.
The Exit Drill In The Home (EDITH) plan is a program that the fire district presents to schools, and to the community. EDITH, is practiced at schools, and during the presentation RRFD asks the community to plan and practice a home escape plan.
The plan is easy as 1, 2, 3. One finger points up to where working Smoke & CO alarms are; 2 is for two ways out of every room; and 3 fingers upside down make the letter M for a meeting place outside the home. When firefighters can be assured that everyone is out of the home, that obviously makes an emergency event a lot less stressful and firefighters can concentrate on putting the fire out. As in this case, Andrew’s quick actions allowed the firefighters to put the fire out rapidly, limiting the amount of damage it could do to the home and personal items.
Following are guidelines from the RRFD’s website for fire safety in the home:
•A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire.
•Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and on every level of the home.
•CO alarms generally go one on each floor of a home.
•Smoke alarms, if hardwired, should be interconnected so that when one sounds, they all sound.
•Large homes may need extra alarms.
•Test your smoke and CO alarms at least once a month and change batteries twice a year.
•Press the “test” button regularly to be sure the alarm is working.
•When a smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside.
•Call 911 from a cell phone outside or from a neighbor’s home.
•Replace all smoke alarms in your home every 10 years.
•Replace all CO alarms every 5-7 years.
To view a video on home fire safety visit https://rrfd.org/always-have-an-escape-plan/
