Family Safety First: September 2014

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Franklin Fueling Systems Recalls Hardwall Fuel Curb Hose Due to Fire and Explosion Hazard

Green 1” FLEX-ING™ FLEX-ON Hardwall Curb Hose crimp

The crimp on the fuel hose can loosen causing fuel to leak.

Recall date: September 30, 2014

Recall number: 14-285

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Green 1” FLEX-ING™ FLEX-ON Hardwall Curb Hose crimp
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1” FLEX-ING™ FLEX-ON Hardwall Curb Hose date code on fitting
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Black 1” FLEX-ING™ FLEX-ON Hardwall Curb Hose
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Black 1” FLEX-ING™ FLEX-ON Hardwall Curb Hose with model number, crimp and fitting

Recall Summary

Name of product: Hardwall Fuel Curb Hose
Hazard:

The crimp on the fuel hose can loosen causing fuel to leak, posing a fire and explosion hazard.

Remedy:

View Details

Refund Replace

Consumer Contact: Franklin Fueling Systems at (800) 225-9787 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or online at www.franklinfueling.com and click on “Recall Information: Recall of 1” Hardwall Curb Hose” for more information.
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Recall Details

Units

About 6,700

Description

The FLEX-ING™ FLEX-ON hardwall curb hose is 1 inch in diameter ranging in lengths from 9 inches to 100 feet, including various made-to-order lengths, with fixed and swivel fittings. The product is used in conjunction with the gas station nozzle to dispense or transfer refined fuels such as gasoline, diesel, ethanol blends and biodiesel blends (up to E15). The recalled hoses come in black, green, blue, yellow or red. A date code of M1014 through M3014 in WWYY format, is on the fitting with model numbers starting with FLHFR3XX XXX or FLXHW3XX XXX. On the products with a fixed fitting, the model number is on a label on the crimp ferrule. On products with a swivel fitting, the model number can be found on the label of the box in which it was shipped. “FLEX-ING™ FLEX-ON” or “FLEXSTEEL FUTURA” are printed on the hoses.

Incidents/Injuries

None reported.

Remedy

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled hardwall curb hose and contact the firm to receive a full refund or a replacement hose.

Sold at

Distributors, contractors and gasoline stations nationwide from March 2014 through July 2014 for between $20 and $560 depending on length.

Manufacturer

Franklin Fueling Systems Inc., of Madison, Wisc.

Manufactured in

United States

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Quick thinking firefighters save hamster family from home fire caused by dryer

Never leave your dryer running unattended or while you sleep!

Firefighters save hamster family from mobile home fire

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A group of quick-thinking firefighters in Washington have saved the lives of a hamster family trapped in a mobile home fire.

KTLA-TV reported the firefighters used a plastic bag and makeshift oxygen mask to save four hamsters.

Authorities said Lacey Fire District 3 officials responded to the fire in Olympia on Friday afternoon.
“We have a whole aid kit we use in house fires that fits dogs and cats. We don’t have anything that small, but we’re pretty good at improvising,” a Lacey Fire District Three battalion chief said.
One of the hamsters did not survive, but officials were happy to have helped save the other four.
Authorities said the fire started when a woman turned on her dryer then left the home to go to a friend’s house.

The woman said she returned home shortly after responding firefighters began fighting the blaze and said her children were at school, but their pet hamsters were inside.
Firefighters said they then found two adult hamsters and their three babies next to a marriage certificate filled out with crayons.

“Apparently they were married… The family had made a marriage certificate for Oreo and Madonna. It was pretty cute,” Hulse said referring to the adult hamsters.
The adult hamsters appeared to be fine, but two baby hamsters were sluggish and one was not moving.

Standard oxygen tubing was placed over one hamsters face and two others were put into a plastic bag that was pumped with oxygen.

“We have a whole aid kit we use in house fires that fits dogs and cats. We don’t have anything that small, but we’re pretty good at improvising,” Hulse said.

Full Story

Monday, September 29, 2014

The most important tip for children surviving fire is planned and practiced fire drills.

Operation E.D.I.T.H – Exit Drills In The Home

· Draw an outline of your home.

· Now add the rooms and label them. Show important details: stairs, hallways, roofs that can be used as fire escapes.

· Choose a family meeting place and show it on the map.

· Check each room for the best way to escape.

· Test windows and doors.

· Be sure that everyone has at least two ways out.

· Escape ladders may be necessary.

· Any security devices should open easily.

· Always sleep with bedroom doors closed.

· Find a way for everyone to sound a family fire alarm. Yelling, pounding walls, whistles, etc...

· In a fire it is seconds, not minutes, that count.

· Roll out of bed but don’t stand straight up because one breath of smoke or heated gases may be enough to kill you. And don’t drop straight to the floor because some deadly gasses are heavier than air and drift down to the floor.

· Feel all doors before opening them, there may be fire on the other side. Never open a hot door! Ever!

· Once outside, go immediately to the family meeting place and stay there! Never re-enter a burning structure for any reason.

· Call the fire department from a neighbor's house. Tell the dispatcher if everyone is out or not.

· Begin with everyone in his or her bed.

· Sound the alarm. Press the smoke detector test button. Yell FIRE! Or use some other signal that your family members will recognize.

· Everyone should roll out of bed and follow their primary exit path while keeping their heads at door knob level.

For more info visit www.detech.com and request our free "home safety booklet" in the upper right corner of the screen.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Fire grounds flights at Midway and O'Hare, man found with self-inflicted wounds

All flights in and out of O’Hare and Midway Airports were halted this morning after a fire broke out at a radar facility in Aurora and a man with self-inflicted wounds was found in the basement, officials said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said no planes in the United States destined to cross the Midwest would be allowed to depart until at least 10 a.m.
As of 8:30 a.m., 435 flights had been canceled at O'Hare and 395 delayed, according to FlightStats, which collects data from airports and airlines. At Midway, nearly 100 flights have been canceled and nearly 40 delayed.

Southwest Airlines told passengers at Midway that all of its flights there have been canceled until noon.

Emergency crews were called to a fire in the facility's basement around 5:40 a.m., according to Aurora Police Sgt. Dan Ferrelli, a department spokesman. They found a man there with "self-inflicted non-gunshot" wounds and transported him to a hospital, Ferrelli said.

He said 15 to 30 employees at the center were evacuated. One employee, a man about 50 years old, was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The fire has been extinguished and the investigation was continuing, Ferrelli said. He would not say if police suspect the fire was set.

The Aurora radar facility, called Chicago Center, is an en route air-traffic facility that handles high-altitude traffic across parts of the Midwest.

Controllers at the center direct planes through the airspace and either hand off the air traffic to other similar facilities handling high-altitude traffic in the U.S., or direct the planes to terminal radar facilities, including one in Elgin, which in turn direct planes to and from airport towers.

It was unclear how long the ground stop at O'Hare and Midway would last. The FAA website said planes departing from anywhere in the U.S. that are destined to travel through the Aurora facility will not be allowed to depart until at or after 10 a.m., Chicago time.

Flights already in the air have been handed off to other air traffic control centers. "Airspace management has been transferred to adjacent air traffic facilities," said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory.

Cassandra Dump, a 30-year-old publicist, was headed for a Central Park concert in New York featuring Jay Z, Sting and No Doubt when she got stranded at Midway.

She boarded the first plane she could get, only to be told by the flight crew that all planes had been grounded.

"Fifteen minutes later, they let us know we could get off the plane if we wanted. You could take your ID with you, grab coffee but stay near the gate area," she said. "Then about 10 minutes later, by 6:30, 6:45, we're completely off the plane, deplaned, because they didn't know what happened to the flight."
She paused while a message played over the airport PA system saying all planes out of the Southwest terminal had been canceled until at least noon.

She said there weren't too many irate people. "No one's too pissed, everyone's been up since 3 a.m. I think everyone's just tired."

Hundreds of people were in the terminal near her, she said, everyone waiting on announcements from the airlines.

Some websites haven't been able to keep up and still listed some flights as on time, she said.
Her plan was to find another way to New York. "I'm going to go online and see if I can re-book," she said. "I'm not going to miss (the concert). I'll walk to New York."

Full Story

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Shivvers Recalls Country Clipper Riding Lawn Mowers Due to Fire Hazard

Clipper lawn mower

Recall Summary Name of product:

Riding lawn mowers
Hazard:

The ignition module can fail to ground, resulting in overheating and melting, posing a fire hazard.

Remedy:

View Details

Repair

Consumer Contact: Country Clipper at (800) 344-8237 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or online at www.countryclipper.com and click on Recall on the left side of the page for more information.
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