On Saturday, June 26, A Dock residents met with Captain Jesse Rudnick and his team to conduct a fire safety inspection. Prior to walking the dock, residents were told never to attempt to turn on or off the primary water main (which for A Dock is located adjacent to Issaquah) or to attempt anything with the standing water supplies located on each dock. What we can access and use are the coiled hoses located approximately 100’ apart on each dock. The Southern Marin Fire District encourages each dock to learn what we as residents can do in case of fire and what we should leave to the pros. Here are Davia Lehn’s notes from the safety session:
- First action should always be to call 911 followed by, or in tandem with, evacuating a burning structure. They are staffed 24/7 with trained EMTs and are only minutes away.
- Exiting via dock entryway is the first choice but a second exit should be planned in advance in case that’s not possible. After exiting, move away from the fire so as not to interfere with firefighters. Jumping into water should be last resort.
- In the case of a kitchen fire, use your extinguisher which should be kept nearby.
- Keeping the dock clear for entry of firefighters and their equipment is paramount. Hose locations should be totally clear of planters, chairs and anything extraneous. The same is true for gas meter cabinets as these need to be accessible to both residents as well as fire personnel to turn off individual gas supply in emergency scenario such as fire or earthquake. As has been said before, “Every second we have to move obstructions, is a second taking away from our ability to help.”
- Firefighters will always focus on human life first so if people can be accounted for, they can then focus on the structure.
- Keeping smoke and CO2 alarms armed with working batteries should be everyone’s first safety priority. If individuals are unable to change their batteries, ask a neighbor or call the fire department and they will send someone out.
- For those who use space heaters, never put anything on them and keep them a safe distance from anything flammable. We were also informed that it is always best to call 911 in case of medical emergency even though FHA keeps defibrillators on hand.
Davia notes, “It was an hour well spent and A Dock is very thankful to have such a resource nearby and ready.”
To schedule a similar safety inspection and training, call 415-388-8182 and ask for the fire prevention department.