Can you "act" quickly in a fire emergency? Do you, your co-workers or family members know how to use a portable fire extinguisher or implement an escape plan?  Thanks to Hollywood, many of us are unaware of the realities of fire behavior.  Because movies depict fire with little smoke and heat, people underestimate the rapid growth of fire and the resulting smoke and heat production.  In reality, a fire produces thick, black smoke filled with toxic gasses and temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees Farenheit in as little as two minutes.  Inhaling this superheated air will scorch your lungs and melt your skin.  Within another two minutes the increasing temperature will cause auto-ignition of the room's contents, which is called flashover.  You may be in a room upstairs and awaken to a smokey blackness, essentially blinded, disoriented and unable to find your way out of a home you've lived in for years.  The fire downstairs is using up the oxygen you need to breathe and inhaling even small amounts of these toxic gases will make you drowsy, confused and short of breath.  The chances of you surviving are greatly reduced.

Every year more than 4,000 Americans die in fires and over 25,000 are injured.  Whether you are at home or at work, a plan for an emergency response to fire is critical.  Here at Fredriksen we believe an educated workplace is a safe workplace.  You can play a leading role by acting now, through education and fire prevention efforts, to help create a safe environment both at home and at work.  Please review our fire-safety programs today...  Because tomorrow may be too late.