KMC Notices

The Housing Hype

July 16, 2020

FIRE IS DEADLY!

Recently, there was an off-base home kitchen fire resulting in injuries to the service member and property damage to the rental. Always keep in mind that fire safety is important no matter where we are in today’s world.  Within several minutes a fire can become a life-threatening event. 

FIRE IS FAST! In less than 30 seconds, a small flame can turn into a major fire. It takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a room or for it to be engulfed in flames.

FIRE IS HOT! Heat is more threatening than flames.  Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to over 600 degrees at eye level. Inhaling this super-hot air will scorch your lungs and melt clothes to your skin.

DID YOU KNOW: Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames. Fire produces poisonous gases that make you disoriented and drowsy. Asphyxiation is the leading cause of fire deaths, exceeding burns by a 3-to-1 ratio. That is why it is important to ensure your smoke detectors are tested monthly and that batteries are replaced every 6 months. Changing batteries at the transition to and from Daylight Savings time is recommended.

Here are a few fire safety hints for each of us to HELP prevent a tragedy:

  • Always have fire extinguishers available in your home for fire emergencies and know where it is located.
  • Stay in the kitchen when you are doing any type of cooking.  If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time turn off the stove!
  • Wear short sleeves or roll them up when cooking.
  • Keep children away from cooking areas by enforcing a “kid-free zone” of three feet around the stove.
  • One of the best ways to extinguish a pan fire is with a lid, this will remove the oxygen from the equation and snuff the fire out. NEVER use water on a grease fire.
  • Never try and remove a burning pan or object from your home.
  • If the fire has already caught some of the cabinetry on fire, and you cannot extinguish the fire with a portable fire extinguisher:
  • Have another house member dial 112 from a DSN phone or 06371-47112 from a cell phone.
  • Evacuate all remaining home members to safety outside
  • Alert neighbors

Home fires do occur. Your Military Family Housing Office highly recommends that you obtain “renters insurance” whether you live on or off-base.  For further guidance on home insurance, please contact the Base Legal Office for guidance.

If you have any questions/concerns related to fire safety, please contact “the experts” – your local Kaiserslautern Military Community (KMC) Fire Prevention Section — they can help to answer all of your concerns.

Contacts:

KMC Fire Prevention Section: DSN 480-5940/Comm: 06371-47-5940

MHO Facilities Section: DSN 489-7108/Comm: 0631-536-7108

Housing Referral Section (HRO): DSN 489-6643/6659/Comm: 0631-536-6643/0631-536-6659

For Housing questions/concerns, please email KMCHousing@us.af.mil

Follow us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/KMCHousingOffice

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