8A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL May 11, 2016
Are you ready?
D ISASTER P REPAREDNESS
How to insulate your home
against a deadly fi re
As fi re prevention awareness
efforts gear up across North
America, the National Fire Pro-
tection Association and insula-
tion company, Roxul Inc., are
spreading the word to Ameri-
cans from coast to coast about
the importance of fi re prepared-
ness.
Through the “Hear the BEEP
where you SLEEP” campaign
and Roxul’s “When Seconds
Count” initiative, Americans are
reminded that simple steps can
cut their chances of dying in a
fi re in half.
Here are some measures you
can take to dramatically reduce
your risk:
• Be sure to have a smoke
alarm on every story of your
home and outside sleeping ar-
eas.
• Develop a fi re escape plan
and practice it.
• Use non-combustible ma-
terials when renovating. The
choice of insulation can make a
big difference. Opt for a product
with the highest fi re resistance
possible, like Roxul mineral
wool insulation, which, in the
event of a fi re, will not produce
harmful gases, toxic smoke or
promote the spread of fl ames.
• Purchase a multi-use fi re
ladder for each bedroom in your
home and practise using it.
• Place fi re extinguishers
within reach throughout your
home.
• In the event of a fi re, leave
through the closest exit. Do not
stop to collect belongings and
never reenter a home once safe-
ly outside.
Additional fi re safety tips are
available at nfpa.org. You can
also improve your fi re safety
knowledge, with a contest in-
centive, by visiting roxul.com.
Disaster-resilient homes start
with concrete walls
A home today must be more
than just aesthetically pleasing.
The costs of fuel consumption
and extreme-storm damage,
plus costs in the way of carbon
footprints, are making all of us
insist on far more property ben-
efi ts, including superior durabil-
ity and resilience from pending
disasters.
“In that case, open the door to
a home built with concrete rein-
forced walls, instead of wood,
and see how you will receive
greater safety, comfort, invest-
ment value, and energy effi cien-
cy,” says Todd Blyth at Nudura,
a leading name in building
technology.
“Concrete is a major solu-
tion for weather extremes, and
for more than a decade now,
the building system using ICFs
(insulated concrete forms) has
proven to deliver the most du-
rable building frame.”
The ICF principle is simple,
Blyth says.
The walls are constructed
with pre-assembled, interlock-
ing units (similar to Lego), so
they’re easily transported to any
building site. Each form con-
sists of two panels of thick foam
(expanded polystyrene) con-
nected with a patented web sys-
tem. Guided by the architectural
design and beauty aspects you
request, the ICFs are stacked,
steel reinforced, and fi lled with
concrete until the entire build-
ing envelope is complete.
Here’s a snapshot of addition-
al building benefi ts:
Disaster-resilient: ICF walls
withstand winds of up to 402 ki-
lometers per hour and give you
a fi re protection rating as long
as four hours.
Energy effi ciency: Premium
insulation delivers an energy-ef-
fi ciency rating as high as R-50
due to the thermal mass of the
concrete (compared to an aver-
age R-20 in wood structures),
and that equates to reducing
household energy bills by as
much as 70 percent. And if op-
tional inserts are added to the
ICF forms, this effi ciency is im-
proved even more.
Occupant comfort: Outside
cold can easily travel through
the typical wood-framed wall,
causing uneven temperatures
inside your home. However, the
monolithic ICF wall eliminates
drafts and cold spots and it is an
effective sound barrier, fi ltering
out unwanted noise.
Green living: Concrete is a
sustainable material; trees are
not needed; the system uses
only recycled polymers and
steel; the building process cre-
ates less waste than traditional
methods; and the occupants use
fewer fossil fuels for a much
smaller carbon footprint.
Short- and long-term value:
A concrete home is built to last
and retain its value longer. In the
short-term, the superior durabil-
ity of concrete walls require less
maintenance, repair and money
to maintain than wood struc-
tures.
Travel Smarts
BY DAVE ROBINSON
It’s been about fi ve years
since I have climbed aboard
a commercial airliner. A few
weeks ago, accompanied by
my 16 year old grandson, we
packed some bags and fl ew to
the Philippine Islands to help
with a Medical/Dental missions
outreach in some rural areas of
the main island.
I have gotten accustomed to
carrying a “ready kit” with me
everywhere I go. If I happen to
leave my kit behind, I have the
same kind of nervous feeling I
get when I forget to buckle my
seat belt. So when I was plan-
ning my airplane ride, I had to
choose what to bring along and
what to do without. Because of
TSA and some pretty stringent
(and always changing) restric-
tions on what you can and can’t
bring along.
So the question arises, “How
can I stay within the rules and
still maintain some semblance
of preparedness?” I’m a guy
who is never far from his pock-
etknife, but those are forbidden
both in your pants pocket and in
your carry-on. So the fi rst thing
I had to remember was to pack
my knife into my check-through
luggage, along with a Leather-
man multi-tool and some fl ash-
light batteries.
over the details of your escape
plan, check windows and doors
to ensure all open easily. Know
your local emergency number
(911). Never stop to gather be-
longings or reenter a home after
safely outside.
• When renovating, consider
using fi re-rated, noncombus-
tible products. Your choice of
insulation, for example, can be
vital. Stone wool insulation, like
that produced by Roxul, resists
temperatures up to approxi-
mately 2,150 F. When directly
exposed to fi re, it will not off-
gas, contribute to toxic smoke
or promote fl ames. Fire-resis-
tant building materials can give
you extra time to escape when
seconds count.
• Purchase a multi-use fi re
ladder for each bedroom in your
home and practice using it. A
fi re ladder may be your only es-
cape option if fl ames block criti-
cal exits.
• Place fi re extinguishers on
every level of your home, espe-
cially in high-risk areas like the
kitchen, near fi replaces and in
the garage. Use only for small,
contained fi res that are not
spreading rapidly. Know how
to operate your extinguisher be-
fore an emergency occurs using
the PASS method: Pull pin, Aim
low, Squeeze lever and Sweep
from side to side. The safest op-
tion is always to evacuate your
home and call for help.
Fire prevention measures are
a serious matter in every home.
Find out how to keep your home
and family safe at nfpa.org or
improve your fi re safety knowl-
edge by visiting the Roxul web-
site.
I need to survive, but I’m the
only one who knows where all
the stuff is located. Camp stove,
auxiliary battery unit (to power
the heater fan), and extra pro-
pane canisters. Problem easily
corrected once I arrived home.
Repositioning some items and
giving my spouse a tour of the
storage closet and shop solved
the problem.
I have always advocated
having all your “stuff” in one
handy location, but my “kit” has
grown beyond what my closet
can contain. So now there are
some items stored in other plac-
es. The lesson learned here is
“communicate”. Let everyone
in on where the “stuff” is lo-
cated. That way when there is
an emergency, you don’t have to
be the only one running around
gathering your gear and the en-
tire family gets to practice their
teamwork. It’s one thing to be
prepared, and it’s another thing
for each member of your house-
hold to access your gear.
As always send your com-
ments and questions to disas-
terprep.dave@gmail.com. Pre-
vious columns can be found
on my blog at www.disaster-
prepdave.blogspot.com. Dave
Robinson is the Postmaster in
Bandon, Oregon, and the author
of “Disaster Prep For The Rest
Of Us”.
E
R
O
T
S
R E
HOURS:
T HURSDAY , F RIDAY & S ATURDAY
10 AM -4 PM
For Drop-off appointments,
after hours, call the offi ce
We need volunteers for the
ReStore ~ a few hours
each month! Will you help?
Five ways to increase home fi re safety
An average of seven Ameri-
cans die each week as a result
of house fi res. Most fi res occur
in residential buildings between
the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.,
when occupants are most likely
to be asleep. Your fi rst line of
defense is fi re preparedness.
Here’s fi ve things you can do
to increase your chance of sur-
vival in a fi re:
• Install smoke alarms on ev-
ery story of your home and out-
side sleeping areas. Be sure to
test them monthly, clean them
every six months and replace
batteries in spring and fall. Hav-
ing working fi re alarms can cut
your chance of dying in a fi re in
half!
• Have a fi re escape plan for
your family and practice it. A
small fi re can spread rapidly —
you may only have minutes or
seconds to escape. When going
For emergency snack food,
I bought a carton of trail mix
from Costco, tossed in a box of
Ritz crackers and two small jars
of crunchy peanut butter. I had a
small fl ashlight in my carry-on.
I also had my shaving kit in my
carry-on. I received a “sugges-
tion” at my fi rst encounter with
TSA that my toothpaste tube
was too big. For some random
reason I also received a rather
thorough pat-down. Leaving no
stone un-turned, as the saying
goes.
Everything went well until
I tried to clear customs in San
Francisco as I was re-entering
the U.S. A zealous TSA agent
confi scated one of my jars of
crunchy Jif. She mentioned
something about a possible
menace. She missed the other
jar. She is, after all, only hu-
man.
I did learn another lesson. My
own personal preps are in great
shape. But while I was away I
received a frantic text from my
wife that we had had a very in-
tense wind storm that knocked
out the power. “Where’s our
stuff?” Fortunately I was at
our hotel when the text came
through and I directed her to
lanterns at the top of the stairs
and some other equipment in
our shop. The weakness in my
plan was that I have everything
Habitat Offi ce and Warehouse
2155 Getty Circle ~ Unit #1
in the Cottage Grove Industrial Park
South on Hwy 99 past the High School
S
N
O
I
T
A
DON
S
Y
A
W
L
A
E!
M
O
C
L
W E
Call 541.767.0358
for more information
Email
info@habitatcg.org
Make sure all the pieces are in place to render you and your family prepared in the event of a natural disaster.
• Listen to radio or television newscasts for the latest weather information, and follow all evacuation directions and suggestions.
• Keep a stock of non-perishable food items as well as bottled water on hand inside your home.
• Keep a 72 Hour Kit on hand inside your home that is easy to get to in the event of a disaster.
For more information and tips on disaster response and preparedness, contact your local emergency services center.
South Lane Fire & Rescue • 233 Harrison Ave, Cottage Grove 541-942-4493 • 55 South 1st Street, Creswell 541-895-2506
Twitter: @southlanei re
Facebook: southlanecountyi reandrescue