 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Forum
-> In the News
Barbara
|
 Sun, Mar 22 2015, 12:13 pm
| newme wrote: | I have heard that the tragedy that took place in Israel where 5 children died along with the father - happened EXACTLY three years ago to the day of this fire.
What can we make of that??? What is Hashem trying to tell us???? |
To make sure we have working smoke detectors?
| |
|
| Back to top |
 2
 17
|
ra_mom
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 1:09 pm
| etky wrote: | We have these on our second floor but have long forgotten where we put the keys. Not good.
I'm going to hunt for the keys today and coordinate with DH and the kids where they will be kept from now on.
Also, I wanted to contribute that we have smoke alarms and DH replaces the batteries regularly. He said that he remembers to do it according to when we change the clock - I.e. twice a year. It serves as a convenient reminder to perform an important task that can very easily be overlooked. |
Knock a nail into the wall, high up, near the window that has the gate, but not so close that a burglar can access it by sticking his hand in through the open window.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
1
|
zaq
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 1:35 pm
| ra_mom wrote: | | Knock a nail into the wall, high up, near the window that has the gate. |
NO!!!! PLEASE!!!! Never block escape windows with gates that lock with a key. This is a recipe for disaster.
Picture this scenario: Three a.m. You are deeply asleep and the smoke alarm wakes you up. The kids are shrieking and milling around. The house is filling up with smoke. You are all coughing and your eyes are tearing so much you cannot see a thing. You make your way to the window, grope blindly for the key, and...knock it off the nail to the floor. You drop to the floor and scrabble around frantically for the key, which keeps getting knocked around further and further away from you, maybe under a bookcase or other heavy piece of furniiture with only a narrow crevice between its bottom and the floor. That key may as well be at the bottom of the ocean for all the good it will do you now. Remember, everything is a balagan, the kids are screaming and you are all blinded by sleep, smoke, and the fact that it is 3 a.m. and the fire has disabled the electrical wiring in your house. Nobody has seen the key since you dropped it, and even if they had seen it slide under the bookcase, how long is it going to take to retrieve it?
Now let us imagine that by some miracle you do manage to retrieve the key. You have just wasted--how much time? Fire travels faster than you can imagine. It may already be too late. But let us suppose that it is not yet too late. Now you have to find the lock and insert the key--with hands that are shaking so hard you would miss your mouth if you tried to cover a cough. But you think you will, in the dark, coughing, tearing and choking, with your whole family screaming in terror, kids grabbing your nightgown and trying to climb on your shoulders, manage to not only not drop the key but insert it into the lock? Really? How about you go right now to your bedroom, blindfold yourself, tell the kids to scream and mill around, and in all this (mind you, in this drill you are neither terrified nor having a hard time breathing) make your way to the room with the locked window gate. Now try to grasp the key, insert it into the lock, turn it, and open the gate. How did you do?
Seconds count in a fire.
I suggest that if you live in NYC you take a chol hamoed trip to FDNY Fire Zone near Rockefeller Center and learn about house fires and fire safety. Also PLEASE invest in Fire-Department approved window gates that do not require a key, even if this means eating pasta and beans for the next six months. Window gates that lock with a key will turn your home into a death trap.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
8
|
iriska_meller
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 1:39 pm
|
| Back to top |
0
2
|
Fabulous
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 1:42 pm
|
I just checked. It's a one time use, meaning you can't practice with you and your kids before. I am going to still keep looking
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
iriska_meller
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 1:44 pm
|
Good point Fabulous. Thats why its so cheap huh
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
ra_mom
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 1:47 pm
| zaq wrote: | NO!!!! PLEASE!!!! Never block escape windows with gates that lock with a key. This is a recipe for disaster.
Picture this scenario: Three a.m. You are deeply asleep and the smoke alarm wakes you up. The kids are shrieking and milling around. The house is filling up with smoke. You are all coughing and your eyes are tearing so much you cannot see a thing. You make your way to the window, grope blindly for the key, and...knock it off the nail to the floor. You drop to the floor and scrabble around frantically for the key, which keeps getting knocked around further and further away from you, maybe under a bookcase or other heavy piece of furniiture with only a narrow crevice between its bottom and the floor. That key may as well be at the bottom of the ocean for all the good it will do you now. Remember, everything is a balagan, the kids are screaming and you are all blinded by sleep, smoke, and the fact that it is 3 a.m. and the fire has disabled the electrical wiring in your house. Nobody has seen the key since you dropped it, and even if they had seen it slide under the bookcase, how long is it going to take to retrieve it?
Now let us imagine that by some miracle you do manage to retrieve the key. You have just wasted--how much time? Fire travels faster than you can imagine. It may already be too late. But let us suppose that it is not yet too late. Now you have to find the lock and insert the key--with hands that are shaking so hard you would miss your mouth if you tried to cover a cough. But you think you will, in the dark, coughing, tearing and choking, with your whole family screaming in terror, kids grabbing your nightgown and trying to climb on your shoulders, manage to not only not drop the key but insert it into the lock? Really? How about you go right now to your bedroom, blindfold yourself, tell the kids to scream and mill around, and in all this (mind you, in this drill you are neither terrified nor having a hard time breathing) make your way to the room with the locked window gate. Now try to grasp the key, insert it into the lock, turn it, and open the gate. How did you do?
Seconds count in a fire.
I suggest that if you live in NYC you take a chol hamoed trip to FDNY Fire Zone near Rockefeller Center and learn about house fires and fire safety. Also PLEASE invest in Fire-Department approved window gates that do not require a key, even if this means eating pasta and beans for the next six months. Window gates that lock with a key will turn your home into a death trap. | Many people live in rental apartments and have to live with what the landlord insists is safe.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
5
|
m in Israel
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 1:54 pm
| zaq wrote: | NO!!!! PLEASE!!!! Never block escape windows with gates that lock with a key. This is a recipe for disaster.
Picture this scenario: Three a.m. You are deeply asleep and the smoke alarm wakes you up. The kids are shrieking and milling around. The house is filling up with smoke. You are all coughing and your eyes are tearing so much you cannot see a thing. You make your way to the window, grope blindly for the key, and...knock it off the nail to the floor. You drop to the floor and scrabble around frantically for the key, which keeps getting knocked around further and further away from you, maybe under a bookcase or other heavy piece of furniiture with only a narrow crevice between its bottom and the floor. That key may as well be at the bottom of the ocean for all the good it will do you now. Remember, everything is a balagan, the kids are screaming and you are all blinded by sleep, smoke, and the fact that it is 3 a.m. and the fire has disabled the electrical wiring in your house. Nobody has seen the key since you dropped it, and even if they had seen it slide under the bookcase, how long is it going to take to retrieve it?
Now let us imagine that by some miracle you do manage to retrieve the key. You have just wasted--how much time? Fire travels faster than you can imagine. It may already be too late. But let us suppose that it is not yet too late. Now you have to find the lock and insert the key--with hands that are shaking so hard you would miss your mouth if you tried to cover a cough. But you think you will, in the dark, coughing, tearing and choking, with your whole family screaming in terror, kids grabbing your nightgown and trying to climb on your shoulders, manage to not only not drop the key but insert it into the lock? Really? How about you go right now to your bedroom, blindfold yourself, tell the kids to scream and mill around, and in all this (mind you, in this drill you are neither terrified nor having a hard time breathing) make your way to the room with the locked window gate. Now try to grasp the key, insert it into the lock, turn it, and open the gate. How did you do?
Seconds count in a fire.
I suggest that if you live in NYC you take a chol hamoed trip to FDNY Fire Zone near Rockefeller Center and learn about house fires and fire safety. Also PLEASE invest in Fire-Department approved window gates that do not require a key, even if this means eating pasta and beans for the next six months. Window gates that lock with a key will turn your home into a death trap. |
The problem is that as far as I can tell the gates that open easily without a key are only for child protection -- not security. The gates we are talking about here in Israel ("sragim") are for security. And because unfortunately break ins are a lot more common than fires, when choosing between the two most people put up security gates. To make it slightly less dangerous it is standard protocol that the gate in the Mamad room can open, albeit with a key. That room is also a fire proof room with its own emergency electrical lighting -- remember, it is designed to be safe in case of a missile attack. The walls are made of reinforced concrete and the door is a heavy metal door with an airtight seal that can keep out poison gas (and smoke). Of course, you all need to make it into that room -- which is not always possible. But if everyone has made it into the room you can close the door behind you and buy yourself the extra few minutes needed to open the lock.
It doesn't cover all scenarios, obviously. For example if the fire starts in the Mamad itself, you are obviously not getting out that way -- but it is certainly better than having security bars that don't open at all.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
zaq
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 2:02 pm
Locked fire-escape window gates are AGAINST THE LAW. Period. You can tell your landlord that unless they allow you to put in approved legal gates, you will report them to the appropriate city agencies. The landlord does not have to provide gates for fire-escape windows, because these gates are to prevent burglaries, not falls. If you are willing to leave the widows with no gate, that's your business. But the landlord canNOT require you to live in a house with fire-escape windows that lock with a key.
If you install legal gates at your own expense, you can sell them to the next tenant or take them with you when you leave to install in your next home.
BTW your home fire drills should include opening the window gates and the windows. Not much use having a legal gate if you cannot figure out how to open it.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
2
|
ra_mom
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 2:05 pm
| zaq wrote: | Locked fire-escape window gates are AGAINST THE LAW. Period. You can tell your landlord that unless they allow you to put in approved legal gates, you will report them to the appropriate city agencies. The landlord does not have to provide gates for fire-escape windows, because these gates are to prevent burglaries, not falls. If you are willing to leave the widows with no gate, that's your business. But the landlord canNOT require you to live in a house with fire-escape windows that lock with a key.
If you install legal gates at your own expense, you can sell them to the next tenant or take them with you when you leave to install in your next home.
BTW your home fire drills should include opening the window gates and the windows. Not much use having a legal gate if you cannot figure out how to open it. | Who said fire escape windows? How about windows on a first floor apartments?
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
Barbara
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 2:17 pm
| zaq wrote: | Locked fire-escape window gates are AGAINST THE LAW. Period. You can tell your landlord that unless they allow you to put in approved legal gates, you will report them to the appropriate city agencies. The landlord does not have to provide gates for fire-escape windows, because these gates are to prevent burglaries, not falls. If you are willing to leave the widows with no gate, that's your business. But the landlord canNOT require you to live in a house with fire-escape windows that lock with a key.
If you install legal gates at your own expense, you can sell them to the next tenant or take them with you when you leave to install in your next home.
BTW your home fire drills should include opening the window gates and the windows. Not much use having a legal gate if you cannot figure out how to open it. |
In any building in NYC with 3 or more apartments, you need child safety guards in all windows other than fire escapes if children under the age of 10 live in the apartment. Few buildings have fire escapes, so that means pretty much every window.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
1
|
greenfire
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 2:20 pm
|
can we move the discussions to a different thread ... it's uncouth to discuss this here
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
13
|
m in Israel
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 2:46 pm
| zaq wrote: | Locked fire-escape window gates are AGAINST THE LAW. Period. You can tell your landlord that unless they allow you to put in approved legal gates, you will report them to the appropriate city agencies. The landlord does not have to provide gates for fire-escape windows, because these gates are to prevent burglaries, not falls. If you are willing to leave the widows with no gate, that's your business. But the landlord canNOT require you to live in a house with fire-escape windows that lock with a key.
If you install legal gates at your own expense, you can sell them to the next tenant or take them with you when you leave to install in your next home.
BTW your home fire drills should include opening the window gates and the windows. Not much use having a legal gate if you cannot figure out how to open it. |
It seems we are talking at cross purposes here. If you look back in the thread you will see that the posters discussing window gates with locks are not talking about fire escapes and are not talking about NY. (ra_ma who you quoted was responding to etky who was responding to me. I was responding to an earlier poster who said that you must choose between easy escape routes and gates, which I said was not true -- there are various options)
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
Mom23gs
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 3:16 pm
updated Tehillim Info:
The Family Rav has directed that for Gayle (THE MOTHER) all names be used that she is known by.
She is named for her grandmother GILSOM (Arabic- a Syrian name) as are many of her cousins
Her husband calls her Gila
Her friends call her Gayle
and her mother is Tziporah but everyone calls her by Frances
So if you want the most for your tehillim readings go by Rav Cherba's psak and use these:
GILSOM GILA GAYLE bat TZIPORAH FRANCES
and the daughter is TZIPORAH bat GAYLE
they should have a refuah shelaima b'zoch kol cholei yisroel
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
6
|
gp2.0
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 3:36 pm
| Fabulous wrote: | | I just checked. It's a one time use, meaning you can't practice with you and your kids before. I am going to still keep looking |
Maybe one time use means that it has to be discarded after a fire? Same way a car seat has to be discarded after an accident, even if there was no visible damage. I don't think practice would be a problem. Maybe contact the company and ask?
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
Fabulous
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 3:51 pm
| gp2.0 wrote: | | Maybe one time use means that it has to be discarded after a fire? Same way a car seat has to be discarded after an accident, even if there was no visible damage. I don't think practice would be a problem. Maybe contact the company and ask? |
no, it's meant to be used only in case of fire. If you try it, apparently it's difficult to fold back up. How ridiculous is that?
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
abaker
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 3:56 pm
There are no words for this terrible tragedy. Baruch Dayan ha emes.
Is there a tzedaka fund set up online? I know nothing can take away the pain but I'm sure many Jews would be glad to help ease their financial burden.
Please let me know where/how to donate if there is a fund set up.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
mrimom
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 4:08 pm
|
This is so terrible. I would like to know what happened exactly with the blech--if it was preventable or if it could happen to anyone? or both. I am going to check our fire alarms, and tell my son to run if he sees fire.
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
1
|
malky12
|
Sun, Mar 22 2015, 4:21 pm
I found out today that most carbon monoxide and smoke directors stop working after 7 years
I was replacing the batteries every year without knowing this info
thank g-d nothing happened
| |
|
| Back to top |
0
0
|
|
Imamother may earn commission when you use our links to make a purchase.
© 2024 Imamother.com - All rights reserved
|  |
 |
|
 |
|
|
