1000 SW Jackson
Suite 230
Topeka, KS 66612-1274
(785) 296-1223
(785) 296-8645 (FAX)

Coordinator:
Jan Stegelman

Executive Committee:
Randall Bolin
NHTSA Region VII

Dennis Cooley, MD
Medical Advisor
American Academy of
Pediatrics, Kansas
Chapter

John Drees
Douglas County
SAFE KIDS Coalition

Vanda Easley
State Farm Insurance
Companies

Jim Keating
Kansas State
Firefighters Association

Elena Nuss
Kansas State
Fire Marshal's Office

Cindy Samuelson
Kansas Hospital Association

Kansas SAFE KIDS Reminds all Kansans:
It's Fire Prevention Week: Test Your Smoke Alarms
Fire Prevention Week is October 3-9, 2004

Fire can be furious and deadly - the smoke alone can kill. Despite a 27% decrease in unintentional fire/flame injury death rates for Kansas children ages 0-14 when comparing 1981-1990 and 1991-2000, fire/burn injury remains the third leading cause of unintentional injury death for children in our state. The theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 3-9, 2004, "It's Fire Prevention Week: Test Your Smoke Alarms" is a lifesaving reminder that smoke alarms are the great safety success story of the 20 th century - but only when they're working properly.

"Children, especially those ages 4 and under, are at greatest risk from home fire related death and injury," said Jan Stegelman, Coordinator, Kansas SAFE KIDS. "Having a working smoke alarm on every level of your home and making sure that your children know what to do when the alarms sounds can make the difference between surviving a fire and dying in one."

Kansas SAFE KIDS offers these simple tips for Fire Prevention Week:

• Install working smoke alarms on each level of the home, and test them monthly. Replace batteries at least once a year. Replace smoke detectors every 10 years. The chance of dying in a residential fire is cut in half when a working smoke alarm is present.
• Plan and practice with your children two escape routes out of the house and each room. Make sure your children know the sound of your smoke alarm. Have a home fire drill to prepare your children. An unprepared child may attempt to hide from the fire instead of leaving immediately.
• Designate an outside meeting place for your family. Teach everyone in your household that once they are out, they must stay out until firefighters say it is safe to go back inside. Children should be reminded not to stop or return for anything such as a toy. A call to 9-1-1 should be placed after leaving the house.

Time is precious when a fire starts in the home. Making sure that your home is protected by working smoke alarms and your family learns and practices basic fire safety will give every member of your family a better chance at staying alive and safe.

Kansas SAFE KIDS, Inc. is a nonprofit Coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing unintentional injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Clay, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Marion, Montgomery, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Republic, Rice, Saline, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, and Woodson Counties, as well as Chanute, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Norton, Pittsburg, and Wichita.