As autumn arrives and we turn up the heat in our homes, Foxwood Hills enters a critical season for neighborhood awareness: Fire Safety Month. October is our community’s annual opportunity to review emergency plans, test our smoke alarms, and ensure our properties are protected against fire hazards.
Living in our beautiful, wooded lakeside community means fire prevention isn’t just an individual responsibility—it is a shared commitment to keeping our neighbors, families, and unique natural surroundings safe.
Please take a few minutes this week to review your home and complete the following fire-safety checks:
- Install smoke alarms: Place working smoke alarms (often called smoke detectors) inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home. Interconnected alarms
provide the best warning. - Test and replace: Test every alarm monthly. Replace removable batteries at least yearly or as
directed by the manufacturer, and replace the entire alarm when it is 10 years old. - Plan two ways out: Identify two exits from every room, choose a safe outdoor meeting place, and
practice the escape plan with everyone in the household at least twice each year. - Get out and stay out: If an alarm sounds or you see smoke, leave immediately, close doors
behind you when possible, and call 911 from outside. Never return to a burning home. - Keep a fire extinguisher ready: Keep an accessible, working fire extinguisher in your home
especially near the kitchen. - Never leave hazards unattended: Never leave cooking, candles, fireplaces, grills, or space
heaters unattended. - Use electricity safely: Do not overload electrical outlets or use damaged extension cords.
- Prepare for every household member: Make sure children, older adults, people with mobility or hearing needs are included in the escape plan. Keep exits and house-number visibility clear for
emergency responders.
Please act today: If an alarm is missing, expired, damaged, or unreliable, replace it now. Contact the Fire Operation Supervisor at 864-638-4220 ext. O, if you are in need of assistance with obtaining a smoke
alarm. In addition, they can assist with the installation of each alarm.
Fire safety is a shared responsibility. Simple steps taken today can provide precious time to escape and
help protect our families, neighbors, and first responders.
