Full Notification

As winter approaches, residents of Lindstrom and Chisago City are much more prone to house fires. Take the Fire Home Safety Challenge!

http://www.mnhomesafetychallenge.org

According to State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl, the remedy is twofold: make your home a safe environment, and make your behavior fire-safe. “The Home Safety Challenge website addresses both of those solutions clearly and helpfully,” Rosendahl says. “Anyone can learn something new by using this tool, and it’s fun to do.”

The State Fire Marshal Division (fire.state.mn.us) has linked to the “Challenge” site and encourages schools, non-profits, business associations and others to do the same. Visitors to the site are taken through a thought-provoking list of 37 questions about where fire dangers may lie in their own homes. At the end, they receive a score and a list of resources to help eliminate potential problems or learn more about fire-safe behavior.

Because residential dwellings vary widely, three different videos focus on fire issues in single-family homes, apartments and older adults’ homes, and manufactured homes. A downloadable brochure contains specific advice for parents, caregivers, renters, older adults and residents of manufactured housing.

Rosendahl believes that anyone who spends time on the Home Safety Challenge website can gain the tools to prevent residential fires. “Fire is everyone’s fight. If you’re not actively trying to prevent home fires, you’re overlooking a real threat. Using this site is a way to correct that and put yourself on the road to safety at home.”