Today is National Pet Fire Safety Day

Today is Pet Fire Safety Day, and the purpose is to bring prevention awareness to pet owners. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), ADT Security Services,  and the American Kennel Club have partnered together to bring a fire safety awareness to all pet owners. According to the NVFC, there is “an estimated 500,000 pets affected by home fires each year,” and “nearly 1,000 house fires each year are accidentally started by the homeowners’ pets,” according to the AKC and the NVFC. Here is a list of tips courtesy of NVFC to keep our pets from starting house fires:

• Extinguish open flames: Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home. 

• Remove stove knobs: Be sure to remove stove knobs or protect them with covers before leaving the house – a stove or cook top is the number one piece of equipment involved in your pet starting a fire.  

• Invest in flameless candles: These candles contain a light bulb rather than an open flame, and take the danger out of your pet knocking over a candle. Cats are notorious for starting fires when their tails turn over lit candles.  

• Beware of water bowls on wooden decks: Do not leave a glass water bowl for your pet outside on a wooden deck. The sun’s rays when filtered through the glass and water can actually heat up and ignite the wooden deck beneath it. Choose stainless steel or ceramic bowls instead.

•  Pet proof the home: Take a walk around your home and look for areas where pets might start fires inadvertent

 And, in order to keep your pets safe, please:

• Keep pets near entrances when away from home: When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them. 
• Secure young pets: Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home, such as in crates or behind baby gates in secure areas.
• Practice escape routes with pets: Keep collars and leashes at the ready in case you have to evacuate quickly with your pet or firefighters need to rescue your pet. 
• Consider using monitored smoke detection services – As an added layer of protection beyond battery-operated smoke alarms, smoke detectors connected to a monitoring center help save pets who can’t escape when left home alone. 
• Affix a pet alert window cling: Write down the number of pets inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. Make sure to keep the number of pets listed on them updated.                                            

Let’s all remember that preventative measures means keeping our beloved pets safe. For more information on Pet Fire Safety Day, and for a list of distribution places (both actual and online) where you can obtain pet finder window clings, please check out the following websites:

 National Volunteer Fire Council  at http://www.nvfc.org/index.php?item_id=1188&action=show_item&type=news

American Kennel Club at http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=4152  

ADT Security Services at https://www.adt.com/resi/programs/pets/ 

Another great website, as suggested by fellow animal lover and blogger The Thundering Herd, is Be the Change for Animals. Their mission is to "provide a platform to amplify the voice of animal advocates, mobilizing a focused and powerful movement behind one cause at a time. Through this vehicle, we can generate exponential change by forming a wave that turns the tide." Visit today!

Until next time, stay safe, happy, and healthy!