Brush Up on Fire Safety Basics

SAN DIEGO, Oct 07, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- MET | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- National Fire Prevention week takes place during the month of October, and MetLife Auto & Home reminds consumers to check their fire safety knowledge with a brief quiz:

-- Do you prepare and practice a home escape plan? -- Do you have working smoke detectors installed in your home? -- Do you change the batteries in your smoke detectors every six months? (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/NETU129 )

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, you're not alone. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), fire departments responded to 396,000 home fires in the United States in 2006, resulting in $6.8 billion in direct property damage, 12,500 injuries, and 2,580 deaths. Many of these fires -- and fatalities -- could have been prevented, had the basics of fire prevention been observed.

"These three simple questions are the most important when it comes to fire safety," said Joe Rupp, MetLife Auto & Home's Regional Vice President overseeing the state of California. "Each family member needs to know an exit route in the event of a fire, as well as where to meet as a group outside. As for smoke detectors, it's recommended that households have one on every level, in every bedroom, and in the halls outside of sleeping areas. Consider changing your smoke detectors whenever you reset your clocks for daylight savings time."

This year's theme during National Fire Prevention week is "Prevent Home Fires," which reminds people to be aware of potential home fire hazards, such as cooking-related fires, the number one cause of home fires and home fire injuries. Unattended cooking is the most common cause of cooking fires, and more than half of cooking fire injuries occur when people tried to fight the fire themselves.

There are other home hazards, as well, such as electrical hazards and careless smoking mishaps -- the number one cause of fire deaths in the United States. Candle-related fires are another concern, especially around the holidays, when they occur with the greatest frequency.

In California, wildfires present an additional threat, making it important for residents to take additional precautions. For example, if you live in an area at risk for wildfire and haven't done so already, consider creating a zone around your house that will slow a wildfire down. Creating a "survivable space" within 30 feet of the home (or 50 feet, if you live in a heavily wooded area) can be accomplished by: pruning all the trees and shrubs in your area, keeping branches and taller trees at least a minimum of six feet from the ground, moving firewood and storage tanks at least 50 feet away from your home, and properly storing all flammable liquids. And, once you've established your space, remember to maintain the area, by periodically removing all dead leaves and branches, especially around the roof and chimney, and clearing your roofs, gutters, and eaves of debris.

To help people learn more about fire safety education MetLife Auto & Home offers free materials, including a coloring book for children entitled "Learn about Fire Safety with the PEANUTS(TM) Gang" and a fire safety brochure entitled "About ... Fire Safety." They are available by calling 1-800-638- 5433 (1-800-MET-LIFE).

"These materials give parents and children valuable tools to help learn the basics of fire safety," said Rupp. "Many fires are the result of kitchen mishaps or simple carelessness. The coloring books help parents teach valuable lessons that can save lives and property-and do so using the PEANUTS characters, which have proven popularity with everyone, especially kids."

MetLife Auto & Home is one of the nation's leading personal lines property and casualty insurance companies. MetLife Auto & Home has developed a reputation for innovation in product design, being the first insurer to introduce product enhancements that provide greater value to consumers, including Identity Theft resolution services to both its auto and home insurance customers, offered at no additional charge, which is available in most states, including Massachusetts. MetLife Auto & Home is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading provider of insurance and financial services with operations throughout the U.S. and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com.

MetLife Auto & Home is a brand of Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company and its affiliates, Warwick, RI.

Contact: David Hammarstrom (401) 827-2273 Ted Mitchell (401) 827-3236

dhammarstrom@metlife.com tjmitchell@metlife.com

SOURCE MetLife Auto & Home

http://www.metlife.com

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index