Wednesday, December 5, 2001

Smoke hood useful for fire emergencies

Home is our refuge, where we feel comfortable, safe and secure. Yet recent statistics on fire could challenge that sense of security.

Consider this alarming fact: 81 percent of all fire-related fatalities occurred in the home, according to figures released in 2000 by the National Fire Protection Association. An even more alarming fact is that in North America, on average, more than 4,000 people die each and every year from fire, and more than 25,000 others are injured.

Equally shocking is how most of these deaths occurred. Contrary to popular belief, the leading cause of death from a fire is not burns. Smoke inhalation is the culprit, causing over 77 percent of all fire fatalities according to a recent article in the NFPA Journal. Smoke inhalation deaths totaled 2,236, while burns accounted for only 526.

In fact, smoke does more than asphyxiate victims. Survivors of fires have reported confusion and panic impeding them and others fom reaching an exit in smoke-filled areas.

Survivors have also said disorientation a loss of clear thinking and visibility seriously restricted their mobility and ability to act during the emergency. Disaster reports further stated that panic-stricken victims often hyperventilate, breathing in massive amounts of toxic fumes and smoke, which can hasten death.

Smoke from home fires, particularly those involving upholstery, contains a cocktail of lethal toxins including benzene, sulphur dioxide, formaldehyde, hydrogen chloride, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide. But the most lethal of all is carbon monoxide, the number-one killer in fires.

Often dubbed the "silent killer," CO earns its name from its odorless, colorless and fatal properties, killing people with concentrations as low as one-fifth of one percent in air and producing symptoms of poisoning with as little as 1/1000 of a percent.

Another urgency facing those caught in a fire is time. Seconds become precious from the moment smoke is detected. Depending on various factors, such as the fire's location and the size of the structure, a person may succumb to smoke inhalation in less than 60 seconds. It is estimated that 94 percent of peole die before firefighters arrive.

Prevention

There are a number of ways to prevent deaths and injuries due to fires in the home. In the 1999 Fire Loss in the United States report in the NFPA Journal, author Michael J. Karter, Jr., a senior statistician with the NFPA's Fire Analysis and Research Division, said the key to reducing the fire death toll were fire safety initiatives targeted at the home.

He said, for example, that more people must use and maintain smoke detecctors. The NFPA reports that 93 percent of all homes and businesses in the United States have at least one smoke detector installed, and this has accounted for a significant drop in fire fatalities. But maintenance is important and smoke detectors should be replaced every ten years to "protect against an accumulated chance of failure."

The are also CO detectors on the market to help alert families to carbon monoxide in the home.

Karter went on to say that while early smoke detection is vital in the event of a fire, more people must develop and practice escape plans. He warned that those most at risk were infants, the elderly and the poor, and their special fire safety needs must be better addressed. His warning echoed the NFPA's statistics that children five and under account for 19 percent of home fire deaths, and their risk is twice that of the general population. Meanwhile, the statistics showed that people over 65 have a risk that is almost five times as great.

Solution

Fire prevention experts agree that maximizing the few seconds available to escape a burning building could mean the difference between survival and death. Again, the most immediate problem is the toxic atmsphere created immediately by confusion.

An innovative lifesaving device called a smoke hood solves this problem by filtering out toxic fumes and smoke. Often used in industrial safety and aviation applications, smoke hoods are increasingly being purchased by frequent travelers and safety-conscious homeowners.

Public awareness of their value was heightened after recent print and TV media focused attention on devastating aviation disasters and stances taken on them by safety advocates, including Ralph Nader and former U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General May Shiavo.

Proven effective in emergencies as well as laboratory testing, smoke hoods fit over the head, protecting the eyes, face, hair and neck from heat, while a filtration system prevents toxic gases, fumes and particles from reaching the lungs. Several leading models also utilize a catalytic process to protect the user from CO poisoning. Unfortunately, some designs do not have this capability, which renders them ineffective against the most toxic element found in smoke.

One example of a CO capable design is the EVAC-U8 Emergency Escape Smoke Hood, manufactured in Vancouver, Canada. This device has been highly recommended by fire, travel and safety experts as the most effective, affordable and user-friendly smoke hood on the market. The EVAC-U8 is a cylindrical canister, about the size of a soft drink can and weighing only 11 ounces. It provides 20 minutes of protection agaisnt high concentrations of CO and other toxic gases and fumes becuase of its unique multistage chemical catalytic filtration system.

The EVAC-U8 is simple to use. Once the lid of the sealed canister is twisted off, the hood (made of Teflon-coated Kapton, a heat and flame resistant material) is released. Pulling back the hood exposes a mouthpiece and attached nose clip. After inserting the mouthpiece and applying the nose clip, the hood is easily positioned over the head.

Another feature praised by safety professionals is the white luminescent disc at the base of the canister. The disc glows in the dark, enabling firefighters to easily locate the user. the EVAC-U8, which has a five-year shelf life, comes complete with a wall mount for use in the home. The manufacturer will replace, at no charge, any unit that is used in a documented fire emergency.

In a fire emergency, a smoke hood like this could be the best insurance policy you have. For more information on this potentially live-saving technology, call 1-800-459-3822 or visit www.evac-u8.com.

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