Fallston Fire Company

Fallston, MD

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MAKE SURE YOUR HOLIDAYS STAY HAPPY AND SAFE !

 December 16, 2022

FVFAC and the NFPA urge added caution this holiday season, as Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are among the leading days of the year for U.S. home fires.

 

Many hallmarks of the holiday season, including Christmas trees, holiday decorations, and festive meals, present potential fire hazards that contribute to an annual increase in U.S. home fires at this time of year. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are among the leading days of the year for home fires. Please read the tips below and follow the links for more info to help insure your families have a fire safe holiday!

“December is a leading month for home fires, in large part because many of the activities we engage in during the holiday season reflect leading causes of home fires year-round,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. “Plus, as colder temperatures impact much of the country, use of heating equipment increases significantly.”

Fortunately, Carli notes, the majority of winter fires can be prevented with a little added awareness and planning.

“By knowing where potential fire hazards exist and taking some basic safety precautions to prevent them, people can enjoy a festive, fire-free holiday season,” said Carli.

The NFPA Winter Holidays page offers a wide variety of tips and resources to reduce the risk of fires, while the latest NFPA statistics underscore the increased risk of fire during the holiday season and beyond:

Christmas trees

  • An estimated average of 160 home fires involving Christmas trees caused two civilian deaths, 11  civilian injuries, and $12 million in direct property damage per year between 2016 and 2020.
  • Some type of electrical distribution or lighting equipment, including decorative lights, was involved in more than two of five (44 percent) of home Christmas tree fires. Nearly one in five Christmas tree fires (19 percent) were started by decorative lights.
  • The majority (74 percent) of Christmas tree fires occur in December and January.

Decorations

  • An estimated average of 790 home fires that began when decorations (other than Christmas trees) caught fire caused an average of one civilian death, 26 civilian injuries and $13 million in direct property damage per year between 2015 and 2019.
  • One in five home decoration fires occurred in December.
  • Year-round, 35 percent of home decoration fires began with candles; in December, the number jumped to 45 percent.
  • In more than two of every five fires (44 percent) involving decorations, the decoration was too close to a heat source such as a candle, cooking or heating equipment.

Candles

  • An estimated average of 7,400 home fires (2 percent) started by candles caused an average of 90 civilian deaths (three percent), 670 civilian injuries (6 percent), and $291 million (4 percent) in direct property damage per year between 2015 and 2019.
  • Candle fires peak in December and January with 11 percent of candle fires in each of these months.
  • In three of every five candle fires, the candle was too close to something that could catch fire.
  • Christmas is the peak day for candle fires with roughly 2.5 times the daily average; Christmas Eve ranked second.
  • Falling asleep was a factor in 10 percent of the home candle fires and 12 percent of the associated deaths.

Cooking

  • Cooking is the leading cause of reported home fires (49 percent) and home fire injuries and the second-leading cause of home fire deaths.
  • Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires.
  • Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

Fires caused by heating equipment, the second-leading cause of U.S. home fires year-round, peak during the winter months, when temperatures drop and more people use heating equipment to keep their homes warm. Put a Freeze on Winter Fires, an annual NFPA campaign with the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), works to educate the public about ways to stay safe during the colder months, offering tip sheets and other resources to help reduce the risk of heating fires and other winter hazards.

9 Ways You’re a Holiday Decorating Disaster.

Christmas tree disposal
As Christmas trees dry out, they become more and more flammable. Thirty percent of Christmas tree fires were in January.  Although Christmas tree fires are not common, they can grow very fast.

Water Your Tree !

This dramatic video demonstrates what happens when fire touches a dry tree and a properly maintained, well-watered tree. Please share this video on your website and social media networks.

 

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9/2 : Public Safety Education Detail

FVFAC visits Fallston United Methodist Church to promote Fire Prevention and Life Safety. Our Volunteer personnel take pride in not only their emergency response duties and apparatus readiness but also in making sure that children are not afraid when we arrive for an emergency.

Past Assistant Chief Stacey Gail, Fire Sgt. Tom Prichard and F.F. Bella Price took time to promote awareness and understanding on how to initiate a 911 call, develop home fire escape plans with parents and most importantly how to protect themselves in the event of a fire emergency.
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9/2 : Public Safety Education Detail 
FVFAC visits Fallston United Methodist Church to promote Fire Prevention and Life Safety.  Our Volunteer personnel take pride in not only their emergency response duties and apparatus readiness but also in making sure that children are not afraid when we arrive for an emergency. 
Past Assistant Chief Stacey Gail, Fire Sgt. Tom Prichard and F.F. Bella Price took time to promote awareness and understanding on how to initiate a 911 call, develop home fire escape plans with parents and most importantly how to protect themselves in the event of a fire emergency.Image attachmentImage attachment
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Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Co.
4 weeks ago
Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Co.

📣📣EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT 📣📣

Did you miss out on our first event🤷🏼‍♂️

Are you wanting to help us reach our goals 👀

Don’t worry, We have you covered 👍

With our first Capital Campaign Event selling out quicker than expected and a large amount of interest across the state, our vendor has arranged a second event on the same day.

That’s right, back to back events! FVFAC values it’s critical partnership with the communities we serve, together we are able unite and achieve the mission of serving the community with professionalism, state of the art equipment and well trained personnel.

GET YOUR TICKETS BELOW ⬇️

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... See MoreSee Less

📣📣EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT 📣📣
Did you miss out on our first event🤷🏼‍♂️
Are you wanting to help us reach our goals 👀
Don’t worry, We have you covered 👍
With our first Capital Campaign Event selling out quicker than expected and a large amount of interest across the state, our vendor has arranged a second event on the same day. 
That’s right, back to back events! FVFAC values it’s critical partnership with the communities we serve, together we are able unite and achieve the mission of serving the community with professionalism, state of the art equipment and well trained personnel. 
GET YOUR TICKETS BELOW ⬇️ 
https://m.signupgenius.com/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ#!/showSignUp/60B0F4FADA82CA3FE3-seaglass42
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Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Co.
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Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Co.

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Monthly Calls

2023Fire & Fire/EMSFVFAC EMS
Jan52186
Feb44142
Mar62183
Apr6892
May7050
Jun7032
Jul8917
Aug7111
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2023 Total526713

Fire Top Ten Responder

August 2023
Name
Calls
Deputy Chief Dan McKinney197
Sgt. Tom Pritchard157
Asst. Chief Bob Colaianni110
Asst. Chief Kris Teal96
Chief Scott Blankenship
88
Capt. Zach Karn78
Sgt. Andrew Hilber78
Matt Barlow,
Angelo Kouroupis
73
Bella Price70
Matt Garrity64

EMS Top Ten Responder

August 2023
Name
Calls
Shelby Sahady97
EMS Asst. Chief Will Rosenberg63
Lt. Matt Garrity57
Autumn Pafel39
Jenn Chenworth37
Darrin Ryan29
Jason Cowger

26
Camden Jones23
Lori Etchison21
EMS Capt. Ed (Chip) Steininger19

Contact Information

Fallston Fire Company
P.O. Box 141
Fallston, MD 21047

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Fax: 410.638.4889

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House 1: 410.638.4890

House 2: 410.692.7866

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