Alpena City Fire new fire and fall prevention program
ALPENA, Mich. — Alpena City Fire has been on a mission to prepare families for the worst of emergencies. Renters may have to evacuate their apartments within the next two months.
The fire department targeted its first building for their new program on Tuesday. It’s called Remembering When, a fire and fall prevention program for older adults.
Risk reduction officer Andy Marceau started with the basics. Stop, drop, and roll if your clothes catch fire, and practice your escape from fire and smoke. Marceau has been disappointed at the number of families refusing to leave their apartments at the sound of smoke alarms. That’s why complexes will undergo unexpected fire drills.
“The misconception is that, oh, the fire alarm’s going off I don’t need to leave,” said Marceau. In another example he said, “It’s just a false alarm today. Oh, my neighbor just burnt toast again or the popcorn. People don’t realize that it take one time that they don’t get out and it’s really a fire. There could be some life loss. It’s not the fire that gets you. It’s the smoke.”
