Pet Fire Safety - and a GIFT!

With much of the U.S. heartland in a severe drought, the danger of fire is on the increase. In fact, it's become almost commonplace lately to see fire advisories posted for our area by the National Weather Service.

National Pet Fire Safety Day is sponsored annually by the National Volunteer Fire Council, ADT Security and the American Kennel Club (AKC). Since we were participating in the Blog the Change event yesterday, we missed Fire Safety Day. So we're naming today Belated Fire Safety Day!

The apartment complex where Sebastian & CJ lived, Feb 24

We care deeply about fire safety. We have seen, up close and personal, what it's like to lose everything you own - and to lose a beloved pet. If you've been following this blog for a bit, you know we're referring to the fire that destroyed the homes of bloggers Sebastian and CJ. That same fire took the life of CJ's older brother Cosmo.

Ever since that tragic event, I have wanted to design a pet alert sign that you can print off and post in the windows of your home. Unlike other pet alert signs, this one would allow you to customize it, so you can let firefighters know exactly who needs rescuing inside.

You'll find these signs below, at the end of today's post. It's our gift to you.

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We also learned a thing or two during this year's National Pet Fire Safety Day, and we wanted to pass this info along to you:

New data from the National Fire Protection Association indicates that almost 1,000 fires each year are accidentally started by pets. This surprised us! At least until we read the story posted by the AKC about a curious dog named Lucy. 

All Lucy wanted was to sample that yummy cake her humans had left on the stove. As she reached up to snag a bite, her paw knocked the knob and turned on a gas burner. Within minutes the house was filled with smoke. Fortunately, the owners had a security service that called the local fire department. Lucy was rescued and the fire put out. (read more here)

It never once occurred to us to remove stove knobs to prevent such a thing from happening. Thanks, AKC, for sharing that info!

Water as a fire hazard?

Yep, you read that right! We were shocked to learn that you can actually cause a fire by placing a bowl of water out on your deck. Seriously. 

If your pet spends any amount of time outdoors - or if you're just trying to be kind to neighborhood pets and wildlife - you probably have a water bowl placed conveniently nearby.

Believe it or not, that can actually pose a fire hazard. There's a potentially dangerous combination that the National Volunteer Fire Council urges you to avoid, and that's water in a glass bowl.

A glass bowl filled with water can have a magnifying effect when placed on a wooden deck. Both water and glass can filter the sun's rays in such a way that they can ignite the wood beneath.

So please choose a ceramic or stainless steel bowl instead (and please... for your pet's sake, place it in the shade!).

You can read more about fire safety awareness at the CATalyst Council, at 1-800 Pet Meds and at AKC.org.  

We've mentioned this before but we're taking this opportunity to mention it again: be sure to have a pet emergency kit stored near your main exit, and think through how you will respond should an emergency such as a fire occur in your home. 

Our Gift to You

For the longest time, we've wanted to make window signs that leave space for you to tell firefighters exactly what pet or pets you might have inside.

So we created these printable alert signs with enough white space for you to write in exactly what kind of pet - and how many! - your firefighters need to rescue.

(We've even considered printing off small photos of  Allie, Maxwell and Faraday and adding them to the white space, so there's no confusion!)

All you need to do to download these signs is to right click and select "Save image as." This will download a JPG file to your computer that you can then print and hang prominently in a window or two.

Taking them to a print shop and having them laminated might be even better!  If you'd like a higher resolution file, please email us by clicking on the Contact Us tab at the top of our blog. 

We'll be happy to send you a higher resolution PDF file - just specify which one, dog or cat (or both!).

The ASPCA also offers free generic Pet Alert decals that will adhere to any surface. Visit their web site to order their free Pet Safety Pack.

Please stay safe during these hot summer months!