Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips

Maintaining the safety of your home is an important mission, and one that must receive constant attention to protect you and your family.  The good news is that with a little bit of planning and preparation, you can avoid one of the deadliest and most common household emergencies, carbon monoxide poisoning.

What is Carbon Monoxide and where does it come from?

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an invisible, odorless gas.  It is common by-product of incomplete combustion, produced when fossil fuels like wood, coal, charcoal, gasoline, kerosene, natural gas or oil burn.

In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon monoxide.  Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage or near a window or door can also produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. Continue reading

January Safety Tip: Fireplaces

There’s nothing like the warmth and tranquility of a nice fire after being outside in the cold. Whether working or playing, the anticipation of coming into a soothing fire’s sound, smell and sight are undeniable. Curling up for a nap, reading a book, watching TV – everything’s better when a fire’s warm glow is added. Unfortunately fireplaces can also be extremely dangerous. Every year people are killed and property is lost due to fires that originate in fireplaces or improper handling and disposal of ashes. Continue reading

NY Expands Move Over Law

As of January 1st, New York has expanded it’s “Move Over Law” to include tow trucks and other maintenance vehicles. The law requires that you shift a lane, and slow down when you are approaching emergency or maintenance vehicles. This includes police cars, fire trucks, tow trucks, and other vehicles displaying red blue white or amber lights. If it is not safe to move over, you must slow down. Continue reading

Early Morning Fire

Monday, December 26, 2011 – 00:17 hours:

The Armonk Fire Department was dispatched to a reported fire in the walls of a private dwelling in Armonk.  Upon arrival, we found smoke coming from the floor and wall near a first floor fireplace. We proceeded to investigate, using the thermal imaging camera to look for heat signatures created by the fire.  The engine crew quickly stretched a hose line to be used when the source of the fire was located.  A wall was opened up to gain better access to the back of the fireplace, and the fire was located.  After the wall and ceiling were partially removed, the fire had additional oxygen and started to grow.  It was quickly extinguished and we continued to check the area for extension.  We also removed hot embers, which were still smoldering, from the fireplace and its clean-out.

An investigation as to the cause of the fire was performed, with assistance provided to the Chief by the Westchester County Cause & Origin Team.  They determined that some hot embers had fallen into the fireplace clean-out and subsequently heated up the wall area surrounding the fireplace.  Additionally, it was found that the condition of the fireplace clean-out had apparently deteriorated over several years to the point where it had begun to have some cracks and failure in its structure.  These cracks provided access for the embers and heat to ignite some of the wood structure of the exterior walls.  Thankfully, some occupants of the house were awake and noticed the smoke and called for help before the fire was able to grow significantly. Continue reading

Holiday Safety Tips

By Luci Labriola-Cuffe, Chief

According to the U.S Fire Administration, each year fires occurring during the holiday season claim the lives of over 400 Americans, injure 1650 more, and cause over $900 million in damage.

There are simple life-saving steps you can take to ensure a safe and happy holiday.  By following some of these safety tips, you can greatly reduce your chances of becoming a holiday statistic…

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Armonk Recovers from the first major snow storm

After almost a week, Armonk has fully recovered from the first major snow storm. We estimate that North Castle received about 8 inches of snow, pulling down trees and power lines. The past couple days have beeb very busy and we have seen an abundance of Carbon Monoxide Alarms and Fire Alarms as power continues to be restored. Con Ed has been working well into the night to fully restore all the power.

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