Chanukah is arriving in just a few hours, and with that in mind, the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department is providing the following safety reminders and tips. Wishing the Lakewood Jewish community a happy and safe Chanukah! 

CHANUKAH LIGHTS

• Candles and/or Oil cups should be placed in a sturdy Menorah base.
• Be sure to keep the Menorah well clear of window blinds, curtains, other furniture, etc.
• Place your Chanukah lights on a sturdy surface, preferably covered with foil.
• Keep your Menorahs out of reach of small children.
• Avoid using any wooden Menorahs such as children’s projects, these are not fire proof and have been the cause of numerous fires.
  • NOTE TO TEACHERS: Consider using non-flammable materials for such projects.

LEAVING YOUR HOME While the Menorah is Lit

• EVERY YEAR the Fire Department responds to homes for lit, unsupervised Menorahs.
• Many Poskim rule that, due to safety, one may put out the Chanukah letch if you are leaving your home empty. Ask your Rav for the proper procedure.
• PLEASE, for your safety, ask your Rav before you become a statistic. Remember, the Torah says: “V’Chai Bahem..” (… and you shall LIVE by them – the commandments).

GENERAL FIRE SAFETY

This is important all year round and especially so during the 8 days of Chanukah and its widespread use of fire.

• Matches and lighters should be stored out of the reach of small children. Please don’t leave them lying around the Menorah.
• Check that your smoke alarms and CO detectors are working before Chanukah.
• Have at least one smoke alarm and a CO detector on each level of the home and outside each sleeping area.
• For the best protection use Interconnected Alarms. Interconnected alarms activate all alarms in the home when any one is activated. This can be life saving if a smoke detector sounds for a fire in a basement that is a couple floors below a sleeping area and gives the occupants additional crucial time to evacuate.
• Interconnected alarms should be considered between basement tenants and their upstairs neighbors!
• Combination (2-in-1) smoke alarm and CO detectors are available in stores.
• Consider purchasing detectors that come with a 10 year battery preinstalled.
• Space heaters are a common cause of fires and should be given ample space and placed, at minimum, 3’ from any flammable materials.
• IF YOUR DETECTORS SOUND immediately wake any sleeping household members and vacate the premises and then dial 911 for the Fire Department.
• Do NOT close any windows. This helps firefighters determine the location and presence of CO if any.

IN THE EVENT OF FIRE

This topic was mentioned in an earlier TLS article and is worth repeating.

• In the event of fire, large or “burnt toast”, smells of smoke or for any suspicion, ALWAYS notify the Fire Department PROMPTLY. It is never a “bother”.

• The Fire Department is here for the public and will quickly and efficiently be dispatched to your home (or requested location) and ensure your safety.
• The quickest way to reach the Fire Department in Lakewood is by dialing 911.
• You may feel more comfortable calling Hatzolah (or another organization) and you may do so AFTER you have called for the Fire Department. In the event of a fire you will not want to lose precious time by delaying to call the Fire Department.
  • ORGANIZATION DISPATCHERS: PLEASE, if you receive a fire related call, dispatch the Fire Department promptly without delay!
• You have nothing to lose when calling the Fire Department promptly. You have a lot to lose potentially if you delay calling. A working fire can double in size every 20 seconds!

SHABBOS AND YOM TOV

• Poskim rule that one should call the Fire Department for fire related and CO incidents on Shabbos and Yom Tov.
• Carbon Monoxide especially is an undisputed pikuach nefesh (danger of life). It may only be a small chance (“…what are the chances..?” we all say) but it can be deadly.
• Carbon Monoxide has many sources and one should NOT just assume that it is their stove/oven that is setting the alarm off. These include, but are not limited to, water heaters, furnace, dryer, heaters, attached garage, neighboring apartments/basement tenants – your neighbor may have CO from the stove/oven but their CO detectors are not working, etc.
• Understandably, you may wish to ask your own Rav for a Psak. The time to do so is NOW and NOT after an incident happens to you. Be proactive.

THE CHIEF OFFICERS AND LAKEWOOD VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT IN RESPONSE

We have received some queries in response to the TLS article a few weeks ago. The following serves as a clarification.

RESPONSE TIME

The Lakewood Fire Department consists of 2 career companies and 5 volunteer companies. The career companies (crew of paid on-call fire fighters) will respond to any calls within 2-3 minutes. When necessary, the volunteer companies will be hit out as well, responding 1-3 minutes behind the career companies.

Due to the fact that the volunteers are first responding to the fire house for their engines and trucks, their response time is obviously longer. Keep in mind, volunteers need to get through Lakewood traffic in their personal vehicles, with just a forward facing blue light (no 360 lighting or sirens), to their respective fire houses and then from there to the scene of the incident, wherever in Lakewood that may be.

If you see blue lights coming your way, PLEASE, pull over (that is the law in NJ) and let them pass! They are trying to get the fire house to respond to someone in need.

If necessary, calls can and will be prioritized. For example, if a call is received for a CO detector sounding and at the same time a call is received for a fire alarm, a determination will be made. If the CO location occupants are all out of the home and accounted for and there is no immediate threat to life then the career companies will first be dispatched to the fire alarm. That is one reason for a possible delay.

ON SCENE

When the Fire Department arrives on scene you may be asked to vacate the premises while they do their work. The primary job of the Fire Department is to protect life and, once safety of life is ensured, to protect the property and its surroundings. Some have complained that they felt “out of control” as the Fire Department seemed to “take over their home” and barred them from entering their own home even for “burnt toast” incidents. Depending on the circumstances, this may be required by law. Foremost, the Fire Department needs to ensure that all is safe and that it is indeed “burnt toast”. Until that is confirmed you will not be allowed into the premises. If warranted, an investigation may be required, and a Fire Marshal and/or inspector will be requested. On larger incidents especially this can take time and one should expect to be back in their home too soon. Please understand that everything has a protocol and while it may come across as uncaring it is simply the following of these protocols. Most often, there will be other designated personnel from other organizations who will look after the personal comfort and/or necessities of the home occupants.

FIREFIGHTER ACTIVITY IN THE HOME

We’ve heard all the jokes (some are serious) that when the fire department arrives we hide our silverware and valuables. This is an uneducated image that seems to stick to all Fire Departments. In today’s law suit and liability loving world, no one likes to take responsibility, public service officials are constantly in the spot light and if there is anything to exploit it will be chased and found. Fire Fighters are in the unique position of having to balance the line between causing necessary damage on occasion, yet not even a bit more than may be required. To that end, the Lakewood Fire Department is extremely careful in doing their utmost to ensure that nothing more than necessary is done in terms of damage. Recruits are taught “Try before you pry”. Contrary to popular belief, Firefighters do not come in wildly swinging. Not only is there no need for that, it is counter intuitive. A firefighter who is wearing 60-70 pounds of turn-out gear before tools, easily 100 pounds with tools, and crawling around in extremely high heat is not in the mood of “playing” no matter what he may say. Property destruction will occur during rescue and/or suppression efforts accordingly and during overhaul (making sure the fire is completely out) it may be necessary to open up walls and/or ceilings. Once safety is assured and the immediate danger is over everything will be left as is and care will be taken not to cause any further damage.

That said; please do not hesitate to express any concerns you may have to the proper officials. Once the incident calms down or even the next day you should notify the Fire Department of your concerns so appropriate action can be taken.