Hi Friends! Yesterday, the Dickinson County Library experienced an electrical fire that started 2 boxes of books on fire... Thankfully, our staff have annual fire extinguisher training, and one fast-acting staff member was able to put out the fire before it spread! (Another staff member was calling 911 and within minutes, the FD arrived with full hoses!) Fires can double in size every 30 seconds – so fast response is absolutely necessary!! I can't say enough about the importance of fire safety training and would highly encourage you to get your staff trained! We could have been looking at a flooded Library, an extended closure, and expensive repairs/replacements. Instead, we have a few light fixtures to replace, a square meter of carpet, and a few days of smokey air. (The boxes of books were set aside for recycling, so no loss.) We have had excellent luck in having our city Fire Department provide our staff with full fire extinguisher training each year at our staff training day – but, even if you don’t have the ability to host a full training day, it is highly likely the FD could come and do a very quick training during your regular workday (or even more than 1 to accommodate staff schedules!). If you cannot schedule the FD to come, at the very least – encourage your staff to check out the following video (or one like it) to be sure they know how an extinguisher works… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58naKHqpCWo 😊 Hope everyone has a safe weekend! Megan Megan Buck Dickinson County Library 401 Iron Mountain Street Iron Mountain, MI 49801 www.dcl-lib.org<http://www.dcl-lib.org> (906) 774-1218
