Click to listen to episode (4:47)
Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources
Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.)
Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 9-28-23.
TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the weeks of October 2 and October 9, 2023.
SOUNDS - ~5 sec – Fire engine siren and horn.
In this episode, we feature several mystery sounds to revisit the topic of a national safety
campaign held every October. Have a
listen for about 25 seconds and see if you can guess the dangerous phenomenon
that sparks this campaign.
SOUNDS - ~26 sec – Smoke alarm, fire alarm announcement, fire hydrant
pressure test. The fire alarm
announcement was as follows: “Attention! Attention! A fire emergency has been reported in the
building. Please walk to the nearest
exit and evacuate the building. Do not
use the elevator.”
If you guessed fire, you’re right! You heard a home smoke alarm, a
fire-emergency announcement, and a fire-hydrant pressure test. All are
aspects of the constant and complicated challenge of preventing fires or
protecting people, property, wildlife, and the environment when fires do occur.
Fire safety by individuals, families, businesses, and communities is the focus
of Fire Prevention Week, which in 2023 runs October 8-14; the observance always
includes October 9, the date when the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 did most of
its damage. Fire Prevention Week has been sponsored annually since 1922
by the National Fire Protection Association, or NFPA. NFPA sets a central theme for each year, and this
year it’s cooking safety. According to U.S.
Fire Administration data from 2012 through 2021, cooking is by far the leading
single cause of residential building fires; for example, in 2021 there were an
estimated 353,300 residential building fires in the United States, with 170,000
of those due to cooking, about twice the combined number due to building heating,
electrical malfunctions, and miscellaneous other causes.
NFPA provides many educational items, and one of the learning tools for this year is a “Cooking Safety Tip Sheet.” Here are some fire-prevention points from that sheet.
* Be alert while cooking, and avoid using a stove after
consuming alcohol or if you’re sleepy;
* While frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling food, stay in the kitchen, and turn
off the stove if leaving the kitchen even for a short time;
* While simmering, baking, or roasting food, stay in the residence, check the
food regularly, and use a timer to remind you that food’s cooking.
* Keep flammable items—such as oven mitts, wooden utensils, towels, and food
packaging—away from the stove top. And
* Have a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet around the stove
and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
Two additional recommendations from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management are the following.
* Wear short, close-fitting, or tightly rolled sleeves while
cooking. And
* Keep outdoor grills at least 10 feet away from siding and railings, and out
from under building eaves and tree branches.
The NFPA tip sheet and other educational resources are
available online at nfpa.org; resources
particularly for teachers, families, and children are available online at sparkyschoolhouse.org.
During Fire Prevention Week and all year round, education and preparedness can
help reduce the times we hear this sound:
SOUNDS – ~ 7 sec - Fire engine siren and horn.
Thanks to Freesound.org for the fire engine sound, and a special thanks to
firefighters everywhere.
SHIP’S BELL
Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624. Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close this episode. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The smoke alarm sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio
at a Blacksburg residence on October 4, 2017.
The fire alarm sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio at Cheatham Hall on
the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg on November 20, 2017.
The fire hydrant pressure test sound was recorded by Virginia Water Radio on
the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg on March 10, 2017. Thanks to the
Virginia Tech Facilities Department and to Liberty Fire Solutions of Salem,
Va., for allowing recording and photographing of the testing and for providing information
about the test.
The fire engine sound (dated April 6, 2016) was recorded by user logancircle2
and made available for public use by Freesound.org, online at https://freesound.org/people/logancircle2/sounds/342182/
(as of 9-22-23), under the Creative Commons 0 License. For more
information on Creative Commons licenses, please see http://creativecommons.org/; information
on the 0 License specifically is online at https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0.
Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.
IMAGES
EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT FIRE SAFETY
The following information is quoted from the National Fire Prevention Association, “Public Education/Cooking,” online at https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Top-fire-causes/Cooking.
What you should know about home cooking safety
*Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop.
*Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling, or broiling food.
*If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the kitchen while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
*Keep anything that can catch fire—oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains—away from your stove top.
If you have a cooking fire
*Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
*Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number after you leave.
*If you try to fight the fire, be sure others are getting out and you have a clear way out.
*Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
*For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
Safety considerations for cooking with oil
*Always stay in the kitchen when frying on the stove top.
*Keep an eye on what you fry. If you see wisps of smoke or the oil smells, immediately turn off the burner and/or carefully remove the pan from the burner. Smoke is a danger sign that the oil is too hot.
*Heat the oil slowly to the temperature you need for frying or sautéing.
*Add food gently to the pot or pan so the oil does not splatter.
*Always cook with a lid beside your pan. If you have a fire, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Do not remove the cover because the fire could start again. Let the pan cool for a long time. Never throw water on the fire.
*If the fire does not go out or you don’t feel comfortable sliding a lid over the pan, get everyone out of your home. Call the fire department from outside.
SOURCES
Used for Audio
National Fire Prevention Association, online at https://www.nfpa.org/; “Cooking,” online at https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Fire-causes-and-risks/Top-fire-causes/Cooking; and “Fire Prevention Week,” online at https://www.nfpa.org/Events/Events/Fire-Prevention-Week. The “Cooking Safety Tip Sheet” referred to in this episode’s audio is online at https://www.nfpa.org/Events/Events/Fire-Prevention-Week/About.
U.S. Fire Administration, “Residential Fire Estimate Summaries,” online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/residential-fires/.
Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “Fire Prevention Week,” online at https://www.vafire.com/fire-prevention-week/.
For More Information about Fire and Fire Safety
American Red Cross, “Home Fire Safety,” online at https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/fire.html.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, “Science: Wildfire Impacts,” online at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Science-Institute/Wildfire-Impacts.
National Safety Council, “Fire Safety,” online at https://www.nsc.org/home-safety/safety-topics/emergency-preparedness/fire.
National Weather Service, “Fire Weather Page,” online at https://www.weather.gov/rlx/fireweather.
U.S. Department of the Interior, “10 Tips to Prevent Wildfires,” online at https://www.doi.gov/blog/10-tips-prevent-wildfires.
U.S. Fire Administration, “Fire Prevention and Community Risk Reduction,”
online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/. This information is particularly for fire
departments.
Virginia Department of Forestry, “Wildland and Prescribed Fire,” online at http://dof.virginia.gov/fire/index.htm. Among the many topics is “Fire Danger,”
online at https://dof.virginia.gov/wildland-prescribed-fire/fire-danger/,
with a “Daily
Fire Danger Rating” and a “Burn Ban Map.”
RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES
All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).
Following are links to previous years’ episodes for Fire Prevention Week.
Episode 389, 10-9-17 – Fire Prevention Week Helps Fight
Fires with Education and Preparedness.
Episode 493, 10-7-19 – Planning and Practicing an Escape
During Fire Prevention Week 2019.
FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION
Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post.
2018 Science SOLs
Grades K-3 plus 5: Matter
3.3 – Materials interact with water.
Grades K-5: Earth and
Space Systems
3.7 – There is a water cycle and water is important to life
on Earth.
4.4 – Weather conditions and climate have effects on ecosystems
and can be predicted.
Grades K-5: Earth
Resources
3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
Grade 6
6.6 – Water has unique physical properties and has a role in
the natural and human-made environment.
6.9 – Humans impact the environment and individuals can
influence public policy decisions related to energy and the environment.
Life Science
LS.9 – Relationships exist between ecosystem dynamics and
human activity.
Earth Science
ES.6 – Resource use is complex.
Biology
BIO.8 – Dynamic equilibria exist within populations,
communities, and ecosystems.
Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department
of Education, online at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/instruction.
Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.
Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
Episode 606, 12-6-21 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
