The Norwich Fire Department (NFD), will host an open house during Fire Prevention Week, at 5:30 p.m, today, October 8, located at 31 East Main Street in Norwich. This year’s theme is “Charge into Fire Safety,” focusing on Lithium-ion batteries in the home and best practices to follow. Demonstration from prior year’s event. (Photo by Tyler Murphy)

NORWICH — The Norwich Fire Department (NFD), will host an open house during Fire Prevention Week, at 5:30 p.m, today, Wednesday October 8, located at 31 East Main Street in Norwich. This year’s fire prevention theme is “Charge into Fire Safety”- focusing on Lithium-ion batteries in the home and best practices to follow.

The event will be for all-ages and feature a variety of displays and live demonstrations. A few of the displays will include a 911 dispatch center, law enforcement information, child safe ID cards, and American Red Cross.

Live demonstrations and games will show a tech rescue, forcible entry door simulation, donning and doffing of fire gear, remote control sparky the dog, hose bowling game, and a fire prevention trailer tour.

Norwich Fire Chief Jan Papelino said in addition to giving the public a chance to see and learn more about the NFD, the open house offers the opportunity for area residents to learn about fire prevention and safety in their own homes.

“The open house is to educate the public about fire safety and demonstrate some of the tasks firefighters perform,” said Papelino. “And most importantly, stress to younger children that although the gear we wear and use may look scary, it is really just a person that is trying to help them.”

The “Charge into Fire Safety” theme points to many devices used in the home that use Lithium-ion batteries such as toothbrushes, shavers, vacuums, computers, cell phones, appliances, even yard equipment.

Papelino said while the batteries are safe when used as directed, they have been attributed to a number of fires.

“The fires usually start if the batteries have sustained damage, have seen excessive heat, or are not the correct battery for the application,” he said.

The “Charge into Fire Safety” theme has three steps for safe handling of lithium-ion batteries.

1. Buy only certified lithium batteries such as UL, ETL, or CSA.

2. Charge devices safely by following instructions from the manufacturer, using provided cord, charge on a hard surface, do not overcharge your device and unplug or remove the battery when it is fully charged.

3. Recycle batteries at a recycling location only. Do not throw in the trash or regular recycling bins, they could start a fire.

Amongst demonstrations and displays, there will be fun activities for kids, one being the hose bowling game.

“The game allows kids to use a rolled up fire hose to knock down bowling pins,” Papelino said.

He also noted one of the demonstrations will be an auto extraction showing how firefighters stabilize a vehicle that has been in an accident and how they cut the car away from someone trapped inside to gain access to remove the person.

“The rescue demo will include firefighters using ropes and various rope gear to rescue victims from heights or other situations,” he said.

During the tour of the fire prevention trailer, Papelino said they will provide education on the necessity of smoke detectors.

“The Oxford Fire Department was nice enough to bring the fire prevention trailer to our open house,” he continued. “The trailer demonstration will show the importance of smoke detectors in the home as well as simulated natural weather conditions.”

With the heating season coming up soon, Papelino suggests checking smoke detector batteries, making sure they are still good, and if not, he said to replace them right away.

“Smoke detectors should be in every bedroom, including common area outside bedrooms and on every floor of the house, even in the basement,” he said. “And unless using electric heat, Carbon Monoxide (CO) detectors should be on every level of the home.”

In addition to having functioning smoke alarms and CO detectors, Papelino reminds all individuals should have a home escape plan mapped out in the event of a fire. The plan should include a designated meeting place outside to make it easy to account for everyone living in the home.

He said chimneys should be cleaned regularly and inspected on an annual basis to prevent a buildup of creosote, a highly flammable substance.

Papelino said a majority of home fires start in the kitchen and said, “Never leave something cooking on the stove and walk out of the kitchen and always use caution burning candles, keeping them away from drapes, curtains, and other flammables.”

Light refreshments will be available.

For further information or questions, call 607-334-3411.