Thursday, September 30, 2010 ity
Tri-County News Kimball, MN C O,]L[.[
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Memory Walk is
Oct. 2
If you're the kind of person
who's not going to sit on the side-
lines when there's a chance to
change the future, then you're the
person we need. With more than
5 million Americans living with
Alzheimer's, and nearly 10 million
more serving as caregivers, the
time to act is now[ Join the 2010
Western Minnesota Memory Walk
on Saturday, Oct. 2, at Whitney
Senior Center. Registration begins
at 9 a.m. and the walk at 10 a.m.
In 2009, the St. Cloud walk
raised more than $53,000 for
Alzheimer's research, care and
support. Since 1989, Memory
Walks across the nation have
raised more than $300 million for
the cause.
To learn more about the Mem-
ory Walk or make a donation, call
(320) 257-0699 or visit <www.alz.
org.mnnd>.
Fire Prevention Week Oct. 3-9
Smoke alarm recommendations
Because statistics show that
smoke alarms reduce the chance of
dying in a fire by nearly half, the non-
profit National Fire Protection Asso-
ciation (NFPA) is promoting "Smoke
Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!"
/
as the theme for this year's Fire Pre-
vention Week campaign, Oct. 3-9.
Grinnell Mutual is joiningwith NFPA,
the 88-year official sponsor of Fire
Prevention Week, to educate home
owners and business owners about
current smoke alarm recommenda-
tions. Smoke alarms can mean the
difference between life and death in
a fire, if they're working properly. But
smoke alarm maintenance is up to
home owners.
"Many homes may not have any
smoke alarms, not enough smoke
alarms, alarms that are too old,
or alarms that are not working,"
says Alan Clark, Grinnell Mutual's
assistant vice president of Special
Investigations. Each year, the Spe-
cial Investigation Unit conducts
approximately 20 investigations
involving fire fatalities throughout
the Midwest. "We want residents
to understand that working smoke
alarms are needed in every home,
on every level (including the base-
ment), outside each sleeping area
and inside each bedroom. And,
if a smoke alarm is 10 years old or
older, it needs to be replaced."
According to NFPA's data, many
homes have smoke alarms that
aren't working or maintained prop-
erly, usually because of missing,.
disconnected, or dead batteries.
Roughly two-thirds of all home fire
deaths result from fires in homes
with no smoke alarms or no work-
ing smoke alarms.
' widespread problem we
see is that home owners discon-
nect or remove the battery rather
than replacing it when their smoke
detector starts chirping," says Clare
"Most people have a sense of
complacency about smoke alarms
because they already have one in
their homes. Fire Prevention Week
provides an excellent opportu-
nity to re-educate people about
smoke alarms, new technologies
and expanded options for instal-
lation and maintenance," says
Judy Comoletti, division manager
for NFPA public education. "Ulti-
mately, we want this year's cam-
paign to serve as a call to action for
I I
households nationwide to inspect
their homes to ensure that their
families have the full smoke alarm
protection that's recommended."
Home owners can make sure
their smoke alarms are maintained
and working properly with these
tips from Grinnell Mutual:
Test smoke alarms at least once
a month by pushing the test button
and make sure everyone in your
home knows their sound.
If an alarm "chirps," warning
the battery is low, replace the bat-
tery right away.
Replace all smoke alarms,
including alarms that use 10-year
batteries and hard-wired alarms,
when they're 10 years old (or
sooner) if they do not respond
properly when tested.
Never remove or disable a
smoke alarm.
Interconnect hard-wired
smoke alarms so if one sounds, all
will sound. Contact a certified elec-
trician or purchase wireless sys-
tems that can you can install your-
self.
Grinnell Mutual also recom-
mends taking general safety pre-
cautions to protect your home:
Take caution while cooking.
Several fires begin when people
Page 11
IIIII
leave the kitchen while they are
cooking.
Use carbon monoxide detec-
tors.
Install a residential sprinkler
system in all new construction.
To find out more about Fire Pre-
vention Week programs and activ-
ities in your community, con-
tact your local fire department. To
learn more about fire prevention,
visit NFPA's website at <www.fire
preventionweek.org>, or Grinnell
Mutual's website at <www.grinnell-
mutual.corn>.
About Grinnell Mutual
Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance
Compan with headquarters in
Grinnell, Iowa, has been in busi-
ness since 1909, providing reinsur-
ance, property and casualty insur-
ance products for home owners,
farm owners and business owners
through nearly 1,600 independent
agents in 11 Midwestern states. The
company is the largest primary rein-
surer of farm mutual companies in
North America. In keeping with the
farm mutual industry's philosophy
of protecting communities, Grin-
nell Mutual's Special Investigations
Unit (SILl) regularly serves as fire pre-
vention and safety speakers to local
community groups.
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