Exercise can make cigarettes less tempting to smokers and may help them kick the habit, says a new study.
Research from the University of Exeter shows that exercise can decrease the power of cigarettes and smoking-related images that grab the attention of smokers.
The study involved moderately heavy smokers, who had abstained from cigarettes for 15 hours before the trial.
"We know that smoking-related images can be powerful triggers for smokers who are abstaining," said Kate Janse Van Rensburg, doctoral student at the University of Exeter, who led the study.
"While we are no longer faced with advertisements for cigarettes, smokers are still faced with seeing people smoking on television, in photographs or in person. We know that this makes it more difficult for them to quit," added Rensburg.
"During two visits to our laboratory participants began by being shown smoking-related and neutral images, and then spent either 15 minutes sitting or exercising on a stationary bike at a moderate intensity. Afterwards, they were again shown the images," she said.
While participants were shown the images, the research team used the latest technology to measure and record their precise eye movements.
They were able to show not only the length of time people looked at such images but also how quickly pictures of cigarettes could grab their attention, compared with non-smoking matched images.
The study showed an 11 per cent difference between the time the participants spent looking at the smoking-related images after exercise, compared with the after sitting.
Also, after exercise, participants took longer to look at smoking-related images. Exercise, therefore, appears to reduce the power of the smoking-related images to grab visual attention.
Numerous studies have shown that a single session of light to moderate intensity exercise, for example five-15 minutes of brisk walking, can reduce cravings and responses to smoking cues, said an Exeter release.
четверг, 29 октября 2009 г.
среда, 28 октября 2009 г.
Convict pleads guilty to kidnapping family
GAFFNEY -- Jerry Douglas Case, a convicted murderer who sat on death row but was paroled, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to kidnapping five members of a North Carolina family in July.
The crime spree began near Gastonia, where some members of the family had been fishing, and ended in Gaffney.
Case, 52, admitted he carjacked the family and committed two counts each of kidnapping and kidnapping involving a child. Testimony shows Case threatened to kill a Gastonia man, his adult daughter and two grandchildren, including an infant.
Case was accused of forcing the woman to drive aimlessly through North and South Carolina for 12 hours while pointing a gun at his victims. The victims told investigators Case forced the woman to stop and buy alcohol and cigarettes for him.
The next day about 5 a.m. while stopped at the Kangaroo Express convenience store on Highway 18 near Gaffney, Case accidentally left the keys in the car.
As he walked toward the store, the family drove away and used Case's cell phone to call 911. They were met by law enforcement officers several miles away from where they left Case.
The crime spree began near Gastonia, where some members of the family had been fishing, and ended in Gaffney.
Case, 52, admitted he carjacked the family and committed two counts each of kidnapping and kidnapping involving a child. Testimony shows Case threatened to kill a Gastonia man, his adult daughter and two grandchildren, including an infant.
Case was accused of forcing the woman to drive aimlessly through North and South Carolina for 12 hours while pointing a gun at his victims. The victims told investigators Case forced the woman to stop and buy alcohol and cigarettes for him.
The next day about 5 a.m. while stopped at the Kangaroo Express convenience store on Highway 18 near Gaffney, Case accidentally left the keys in the car.
As he walked toward the store, the family drove away and used Case's cell phone to call 911. They were met by law enforcement officers several miles away from where they left Case.
пятница, 23 октября 2009 г.
UM looks at other tobacco-free campuses
The University of Montana is gearing up to become a tobacco-free campus by fall 2011 and it is not alone in its effort to ban tobacco products on school grounds — 172 other college campuses across the nation have done the same thing.
And not just colleges are taking such initiatives.
Designating tobacco-free grounds is becoming a “mega-trend,” said Clare Lemke, coordinator of the Montana Tobacco Free Medical Campus Project that helped four local hospitals go tobacco-free on Oct. 1.
“When I started this position in fall of 2007, there were three hospitals with tobacco-free campuses and by the end of November (there will be) 30,” Lemke said. “That’s just about half of the hospitals in the state.”
Along with the 172 tobacco-free university campuses nationwide, there are at least another 322 smoke-free campuses, said Julee Stearns, UM health promotion specialist and chair of the UM Tobacco Task Force that drafted the University’s tobacco-free plan. These tobacco-free university and hospital campuses serve as models for UM’s plan.
The plan is framed similarly to one used by Oklahoma State University, a school with more than 21,000 students that went tobacco-free last year, Stearns said. In her research, Stearns focused particularly on Oklahoma State as an example of how UM can successfully implement a tobacco-free campus using a “phase-in” plan. That phase-in will include gathering more feedback this semester and going to the faculty and staff senates in the spring.
President George Dennison sent an e-mail to the campus community Monday to inform students and faculty of the plan, and the ASUM Senate voted in support of it on Oct. 7. Education and development will continue until full implementation in 2011.
Yvon Fils-Aimé, a tobacco health educator with Oklahoma State’s University Health Services, said enforcing the tobacco ban at his university hasn’t been difficult and officials haven’t seen many students smoking on campus since it took effect last year.
Oklahoma State is an agricultural and mechanical university with a rodeo culture that is tolerant of chewing tobacco, Fils-Aimé said. In a 2006 survey, about 33 percent of students there said they used a tobacco product within the past 30 days.
Fils-Aimé said that if Oklahoma State can implement a smoking ban, any school can.
A few months after the policy was implemented in July 2008, tobacco use at Oklahoma State dropped from 33 percent to about 23 percent, he said.
“We cannot be a healthy campus with tobacco,” Fils-Aimé said, adding that every day 1,200 people die from tobacco use. While some argue it’s their personal right to smoke or chew tobacco, he said, this personal choice doesn’t trump the university’s responsibility to provide a healthy campus for all.
Aside from the harms of secondhand smoke, chewing tobacco use has the potential to be unhealthy for others as well, Fils-Aimé said. Spit bottles are sometimes left around campus full of saliva that can transmit disease to other students and university employees that have to clean up the mess, he said.
Fils-Aimé disagreed with Oklahoma students who argued that banning tobacco on campus oppressed the minority – smokers – saying that the university has a right to protect the health of non-smokers from secondhand smoke regardless of the number of smokers.
Though the university encountered some resistance, enrollment wasn’t negatively affected and only increased following the ban, Fils-Aimé said. The school didn’t experience a drop in the number of applicants for student housing, he said.
His only regret is not fining students for smoking on campus. Some students have complained to him that it’s unfair that people breaking the rules don’t get penalized.
Maintenance and insurance costs also played a role in turning Oklahoma State tobacco-free.
While designated “smoking zones” were considered as an alternative to the tobacco-free plan, research showed that those areas are rarely used, Fils-Aimé said. It’s difficult to get insurance for structures in smoking areas and cleaning these areas costs money and poses a health threat to maintenance workers, he said. A structure-less “smoking zone” was designated on the Oklahoma State campus for the year following the plan’s implementation at the request of a faculty committee, but it has since been taken out.
Mary Windecker, director of strategic planning and spokesperson for Community Medical Center, said the hospital campus went tobacco-free on Oct. 1, partly because people weren’t going to designated “smoking zones” to light up, sometimes still smoking in front of doorways. Making their entire campus tobacco-free made enforcement easier because it erased the ambiguity surrounding smoking zone boundaries. She said the center hasn’t encountered problems with people not complying with the ban.
Community Medical Center went tobacco-free at the beginning of the month, along with St. Patrick Hospital, St. Joseph’s western Montana clinic, and Tamarack Medical Clinics throughout western Montana.
Montana Tech will be completely tobacco free in July 2010.
Tobacco policy changes are backed by anti-tobacco legislation across the state. The Montana Indoor Clean Air Act, passed in 2005, prohibits smoking in all work places. Another 13 states across the country have similar smoke-free laws. The Montana Collegiate Tobacco Prevention Initiative, led by the BACCHUS Network, is also working with UM and six other universities across Montana to reduce tobacco use.
Lemke said that while she doesn’t have a magic wand to change opponents of tobacco legislation into supporters, working to help hospitals transition into tobacco-free campuses has shown her that educating people about the harms of tobacco and getting the word out early regarding upcoming policy changes has made transitions to “tobacco-free” much easier. Oklahoma State spent two years preparing their campus for the transition and Community Medical Center spent six months.
“Don’t rush through this and think you can do this in two months, it really takes time,” she said.
The university needs to make it clear that they aren’t “anti-smokers,” Lemke said. Anti-tobacco policies are put in place to promote safer and healthier environments, they aren’t about segregating people from each other, she said.
And not just colleges are taking such initiatives.
Designating tobacco-free grounds is becoming a “mega-trend,” said Clare Lemke, coordinator of the Montana Tobacco Free Medical Campus Project that helped four local hospitals go tobacco-free on Oct. 1.
“When I started this position in fall of 2007, there were three hospitals with tobacco-free campuses and by the end of November (there will be) 30,” Lemke said. “That’s just about half of the hospitals in the state.”
Along with the 172 tobacco-free university campuses nationwide, there are at least another 322 smoke-free campuses, said Julee Stearns, UM health promotion specialist and chair of the UM Tobacco Task Force that drafted the University’s tobacco-free plan. These tobacco-free university and hospital campuses serve as models for UM’s plan.
The plan is framed similarly to one used by Oklahoma State University, a school with more than 21,000 students that went tobacco-free last year, Stearns said. In her research, Stearns focused particularly on Oklahoma State as an example of how UM can successfully implement a tobacco-free campus using a “phase-in” plan. That phase-in will include gathering more feedback this semester and going to the faculty and staff senates in the spring.
President George Dennison sent an e-mail to the campus community Monday to inform students and faculty of the plan, and the ASUM Senate voted in support of it on Oct. 7. Education and development will continue until full implementation in 2011.
Yvon Fils-Aimé, a tobacco health educator with Oklahoma State’s University Health Services, said enforcing the tobacco ban at his university hasn’t been difficult and officials haven’t seen many students smoking on campus since it took effect last year.
Oklahoma State is an agricultural and mechanical university with a rodeo culture that is tolerant of chewing tobacco, Fils-Aimé said. In a 2006 survey, about 33 percent of students there said they used a tobacco product within the past 30 days.
Fils-Aimé said that if Oklahoma State can implement a smoking ban, any school can.
A few months after the policy was implemented in July 2008, tobacco use at Oklahoma State dropped from 33 percent to about 23 percent, he said.
“We cannot be a healthy campus with tobacco,” Fils-Aimé said, adding that every day 1,200 people die from tobacco use. While some argue it’s their personal right to smoke or chew tobacco, he said, this personal choice doesn’t trump the university’s responsibility to provide a healthy campus for all.
Aside from the harms of secondhand smoke, chewing tobacco use has the potential to be unhealthy for others as well, Fils-Aimé said. Spit bottles are sometimes left around campus full of saliva that can transmit disease to other students and university employees that have to clean up the mess, he said.
Fils-Aimé disagreed with Oklahoma students who argued that banning tobacco on campus oppressed the minority – smokers – saying that the university has a right to protect the health of non-smokers from secondhand smoke regardless of the number of smokers.
Though the university encountered some resistance, enrollment wasn’t negatively affected and only increased following the ban, Fils-Aimé said. The school didn’t experience a drop in the number of applicants for student housing, he said.
His only regret is not fining students for smoking on campus. Some students have complained to him that it’s unfair that people breaking the rules don’t get penalized.
Maintenance and insurance costs also played a role in turning Oklahoma State tobacco-free.
While designated “smoking zones” were considered as an alternative to the tobacco-free plan, research showed that those areas are rarely used, Fils-Aimé said. It’s difficult to get insurance for structures in smoking areas and cleaning these areas costs money and poses a health threat to maintenance workers, he said. A structure-less “smoking zone” was designated on the Oklahoma State campus for the year following the plan’s implementation at the request of a faculty committee, but it has since been taken out.
Mary Windecker, director of strategic planning and spokesperson for Community Medical Center, said the hospital campus went tobacco-free on Oct. 1, partly because people weren’t going to designated “smoking zones” to light up, sometimes still smoking in front of doorways. Making their entire campus tobacco-free made enforcement easier because it erased the ambiguity surrounding smoking zone boundaries. She said the center hasn’t encountered problems with people not complying with the ban.
Community Medical Center went tobacco-free at the beginning of the month, along with St. Patrick Hospital, St. Joseph’s western Montana clinic, and Tamarack Medical Clinics throughout western Montana.
Montana Tech will be completely tobacco free in July 2010.
Tobacco policy changes are backed by anti-tobacco legislation across the state. The Montana Indoor Clean Air Act, passed in 2005, prohibits smoking in all work places. Another 13 states across the country have similar smoke-free laws. The Montana Collegiate Tobacco Prevention Initiative, led by the BACCHUS Network, is also working with UM and six other universities across Montana to reduce tobacco use.
Lemke said that while she doesn’t have a magic wand to change opponents of tobacco legislation into supporters, working to help hospitals transition into tobacco-free campuses has shown her that educating people about the harms of tobacco and getting the word out early regarding upcoming policy changes has made transitions to “tobacco-free” much easier. Oklahoma State spent two years preparing their campus for the transition and Community Medical Center spent six months.
“Don’t rush through this and think you can do this in two months, it really takes time,” she said.
The university needs to make it clear that they aren’t “anti-smokers,” Lemke said. Anti-tobacco policies are put in place to promote safer and healthier environments, they aren’t about segregating people from each other, she said.
четверг, 22 октября 2009 г.
Scottsdale PD: Robber grabs cigarettes, lighters and cash
SCOTTSDALE, AZ -- Police say a suspect robbed a Circle K at gunpoint, getting away with cash, cigarettes and lighters.
According to Scottsdale police, a Hispanic male went into the store near Shea Boulevard and the Loop 101 around 9:15 Tuesday and demanded cigarettes, butane lighters and cash from the 43-year-old clerk.
The suspect reportedly pointed a dark-colored semi-automatic pistol at the clerk during the robbery.
The robber left in an older white commercial-style van driven by an older male, according to police.
The suspect was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall and 120 pounds. He was reportedly wearing a dark shirt and jeans.
Officers searched the area but were not able to find the suspects.
No injuries were reported, according to police. There was no word on how much money was taken.
According to Scottsdale police, a Hispanic male went into the store near Shea Boulevard and the Loop 101 around 9:15 Tuesday and demanded cigarettes, butane lighters and cash from the 43-year-old clerk.
The suspect reportedly pointed a dark-colored semi-automatic pistol at the clerk during the robbery.
The robber left in an older white commercial-style van driven by an older male, according to police.
The suspect was described as 5 feet 6 inches tall and 120 pounds. He was reportedly wearing a dark shirt and jeans.
Officers searched the area but were not able to find the suspects.
No injuries were reported, according to police. There was no word on how much money was taken.
пятница, 16 октября 2009 г.
Free Press finds Rich Rodriguez does not really eat Corn Flakes (kidding)
In its continuing fight to give the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the people of Michigan, the Detroit Free Press through information given to them through the Freedom of Information Act, found out that contrary to his statements to the contrary, Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez actually eats Count Chocula and not Corn Flakes as he stated.
Rodriguez issued a statement saying, "I am a frequent eater of Count Chocula, but thought Corn Flakes would put the program in a more positive light"
Obviously the above is not true, but I think it points out the ridiculousness of what the Detroit Free Press is after in their investigation of Rodriguez and Michigan. I understand about the investigation on the practice time, but going all out to find that Rodriguez may have exaggerated the grade point average of his football team is a bit much.
Investigating alleged NCAA rules violations are one thing, monitoring everything Rodriguez says is something else. What's next, exposing that Jim Schwartz actually sings Barry Manilow tunes in the shower instead of Metallica? Or are they going to use the Freedom of Information Act to seek the truth that Jim Leyland really does not inhale his cigarettes?
Let's just wait for the NCAA findings. Personally I don't care if Rodriguez actually fudged the facts on their grades in a talk to alumni or to the media as long as he did not fudge the actual grades. Who knows soon the Freep will let us know if Rodriguez actually likes fudge.
Rodriguez issued a statement saying, "I am a frequent eater of Count Chocula, but thought Corn Flakes would put the program in a more positive light"
Obviously the above is not true, but I think it points out the ridiculousness of what the Detroit Free Press is after in their investigation of Rodriguez and Michigan. I understand about the investigation on the practice time, but going all out to find that Rodriguez may have exaggerated the grade point average of his football team is a bit much.
Investigating alleged NCAA rules violations are one thing, monitoring everything Rodriguez says is something else. What's next, exposing that Jim Schwartz actually sings Barry Manilow tunes in the shower instead of Metallica? Or are they going to use the Freedom of Information Act to seek the truth that Jim Leyland really does not inhale his cigarettes?
Let's just wait for the NCAA findings. Personally I don't care if Rodriguez actually fudged the facts on their grades in a talk to alumni or to the media as long as he did not fudge the actual grades. Who knows soon the Freep will let us know if Rodriguez actually likes fudge.
вторник, 13 октября 2009 г.
Yao Ming enlisted as China anti-smoking ambassador
Basketball star Yao Ming has joined up with the wife of China's vice president to lead an anti-tobacco campaign in the country with the world's largest number of smokers, state media said Tuesday.
The NBA All-Star Houston Rockets centre was named as an ambassador to the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control and is expected to appear in public service announcements urging people not to smoke, Xinhua news agency said.
Also named was pop singer Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the report said.
About 350 million Chinese, or nearly 27 percent of the country's population, smoke cigarettes, with the nation consuming up to one-third of the tobacco products sold annually worldwide, said the report, citing the association.
Up to one million Chinese die every year from lung cancer or cardiovascular diseases directly linked to tobacco consumption, it said.
In 2006, Yao, the most successful Chinese player in the NBA, joined a Wild Aid campaign against the eating of shark fin's soup, a popular Chinese delicacy that has left the fish at risk of extinction.
Peng has also served as a spokeswoman for a public awareness campaign against the stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS sufferers.
The NBA All-Star Houston Rockets centre was named as an ambassador to the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control and is expected to appear in public service announcements urging people not to smoke, Xinhua news agency said.
Also named was pop singer Peng Liyuan, the wife of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, the report said.
About 350 million Chinese, or nearly 27 percent of the country's population, smoke cigarettes, with the nation consuming up to one-third of the tobacco products sold annually worldwide, said the report, citing the association.
Up to one million Chinese die every year from lung cancer or cardiovascular diseases directly linked to tobacco consumption, it said.
In 2006, Yao, the most successful Chinese player in the NBA, joined a Wild Aid campaign against the eating of shark fin's soup, a popular Chinese delicacy that has left the fish at risk of extinction.
Peng has also served as a spokeswoman for a public awareness campaign against the stigmatisation of HIV/AIDS sufferers.
пятница, 9 октября 2009 г.
Mickey Rourke on the priest who saved his life
In the Year for Priests, here's a story that reminds us the impact a priest can have on just one life:
Mickey Rourke has revealed that he was on the verge of suicide before he turned to the Catholic Church for help.
"The Wrestler" star, who battled alcohol and drug addiction for several years, claims in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's new book "One Can Make a Difference: How Simple Actions Can Change the World" that a priest helped save his life.
He explained: "One day I looked in the mirror and I saw myself the way others saw me. I saw the armour and I scared the f**k out of myself.
"I did see a priest for a while, a great one who stopped me from blowing my brains out. We'd go in the basement, he'd pour me a glass of wine, we'd smoke cigarettes, and then we'd pray. But I needed a shrink too, so I forced myself to go.
"I had to learn not to let people push my buttons, find out what was triggering all this rage, and stop throwing things away. I've barely missed a therapy session in over a decade, and that takes willpower."
Mickey Rourke has revealed that he was on the verge of suicide before he turned to the Catholic Church for help.
"The Wrestler" star, who battled alcohol and drug addiction for several years, claims in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's new book "One Can Make a Difference: How Simple Actions Can Change the World" that a priest helped save his life.
He explained: "One day I looked in the mirror and I saw myself the way others saw me. I saw the armour and I scared the f**k out of myself.
"I did see a priest for a while, a great one who stopped me from blowing my brains out. We'd go in the basement, he'd pour me a glass of wine, we'd smoke cigarettes, and then we'd pray. But I needed a shrink too, so I forced myself to go.
"I had to learn not to let people push my buttons, find out what was triggering all this rage, and stop throwing things away. I've barely missed a therapy session in over a decade, and that takes willpower."
среда, 7 октября 2009 г.
Ban still permits sale of menthol cigarettes
This ban, authorized by the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by the FDA to reduce smoking in America. The ban on flavored cigarettes is aimed at reducing the number of children who start smoking and become addicted to tobacco products. In fact:
In 2004, 22.8 percent of 17- year-old smokers reported using flavored cigarettes over the past month, as compared to 6.7 percent of smokers over the age of 25.
A poll conducted in March 2008 found that one in five young people between the ages of 12 and 17 had seen flavored tobacco products or ads, while only one in 10 adults reported having seen them.
According to one study of youth smokers between the ages of 13 and 18, 52 percent of smokers who had heard of flavored cigarettes reported interest in trying them, and nearly 60 percent thought that flavored cigarettes would taste better than regular cigarettes.
The statistics, along with the fact the about 90 percent of smokers begin smoking as teenagers, certainly seem to support claims that candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes are just another attempt by the tobacco industry to recruit "replacement smokers," replacing the number of people who quit smoking or die from smoking-related diseases each year with new, young smokers.
The new ban on flavored cigarettes is certainly a step in the right direction; however, for all the good intentions of the FDA, this ban stops short of eliminating the No.1 most prevalent cigarette flavoring in use today: menthol.
Research at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has shown that menthol cigarette smokers take in more nicotine and carbon monoxide per cigarette than regular cigarette smokers, and a recent study at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has shown that menthol smokers find it harder to quit, despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day.
Although I fully support the ban on flavored cigarettes, it is obvious to me that the tobacco industry still has enough influence to continue selling the cigarettes that are the real money makers for them, and that probably have the most influence on our nation's teenagers, menthol.
Hopefully, the ban on menthol cigarettes will be considered in the near future.
In 2004, 22.8 percent of 17- year-old smokers reported using flavored cigarettes over the past month, as compared to 6.7 percent of smokers over the age of 25.
A poll conducted in March 2008 found that one in five young people between the ages of 12 and 17 had seen flavored tobacco products or ads, while only one in 10 adults reported having seen them.
According to one study of youth smokers between the ages of 13 and 18, 52 percent of smokers who had heard of flavored cigarettes reported interest in trying them, and nearly 60 percent thought that flavored cigarettes would taste better than regular cigarettes.
The statistics, along with the fact the about 90 percent of smokers begin smoking as teenagers, certainly seem to support claims that candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes are just another attempt by the tobacco industry to recruit "replacement smokers," replacing the number of people who quit smoking or die from smoking-related diseases each year with new, young smokers.
The new ban on flavored cigarettes is certainly a step in the right direction; however, for all the good intentions of the FDA, this ban stops short of eliminating the No.1 most prevalent cigarette flavoring in use today: menthol.
Research at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has shown that menthol cigarette smokers take in more nicotine and carbon monoxide per cigarette than regular cigarette smokers, and a recent study at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has shown that menthol smokers find it harder to quit, despite smoking fewer cigarettes per day.
Although I fully support the ban on flavored cigarettes, it is obvious to me that the tobacco industry still has enough influence to continue selling the cigarettes that are the real money makers for them, and that probably have the most influence on our nation's teenagers, menthol.
Hopefully, the ban on menthol cigarettes will be considered in the near future.
понедельник, 5 октября 2009 г.
Fire Prevention Week Begins
Burnt sofas, pianos and even fans, all on display at the Valley Mall to show just how serious a fire can be.
The Harrisonburg Fire Department is putting out this fire, in hope that it may prevent another one.
Wanda Willis, with Harrisonburg Fire Prevention says, "It's very important to let people know that they need to be aware of fires. Fires still kill almost 3,000 people a year in the United States in home fires."
The Staunton Fire Department is also doing preventative education throughout schools this week.
The fire fighters believes it's the small things that people often forget.
Joey Ayers, A Staunton Fire Fighter says, "It's just getting the word out to the people and getting them to understand the importance of everything and why smoke detectors are important and why it's important for them to get out of the house."
Harrisonburg Fire Department says kitchen accident are a leading reason they are called to put out a fire.
Willis says, "Cooking fires are the number one reason why people get burned in fires and they are also the number one reason why a home burns. So, it's very, very important to take a look at your kitchen and see what you can do to prevent the fire from happening."
Firefighters also want creating awareness about problems caused by cigarettes and lighters.
Willis says, "The last death that we had in the city of Harrisonburg was due to a cigarette fire on a couch and they fell asleep. So, that is one of the things that we know is very important to make sure that people are aware of cigarettes and how they can burn a house down very quickly.
The Harrisonburg Fire Department will have their fire safety display out from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. through out the week
While 66% of Americans have an escape plan in case of fire, only 35% have practiced it.
The Harrisonburg Fire Department is putting out this fire, in hope that it may prevent another one.
Wanda Willis, with Harrisonburg Fire Prevention says, "It's very important to let people know that they need to be aware of fires. Fires still kill almost 3,000 people a year in the United States in home fires."
The Staunton Fire Department is also doing preventative education throughout schools this week.
The fire fighters believes it's the small things that people often forget.
Joey Ayers, A Staunton Fire Fighter says, "It's just getting the word out to the people and getting them to understand the importance of everything and why smoke detectors are important and why it's important for them to get out of the house."
Harrisonburg Fire Department says kitchen accident are a leading reason they are called to put out a fire.
Willis says, "Cooking fires are the number one reason why people get burned in fires and they are also the number one reason why a home burns. So, it's very, very important to take a look at your kitchen and see what you can do to prevent the fire from happening."
Firefighters also want creating awareness about problems caused by cigarettes and lighters.
Willis says, "The last death that we had in the city of Harrisonburg was due to a cigarette fire on a couch and they fell asleep. So, that is one of the things that we know is very important to make sure that people are aware of cigarettes and how they can burn a house down very quickly.
The Harrisonburg Fire Department will have their fire safety display out from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. through out the week
While 66% of Americans have an escape plan in case of fire, only 35% have practiced it.
четверг, 1 октября 2009 г.
Smoking! AUB sewer tests leaves downtown offices in a cloud
The Athens Fire Department has been called to Downtown Athens twice this week after people spotted smoke filling buildings.
Firefighters responded to the Murray Willis Edward Jones office on White Street Tuesday morning. This morning, they responded to Pope Law Offices on Washington Avenue after smoke was sighted in the building.
Neither case turned out to be an actual fire. The smoke was caused by Athens Utilities Board pouring smoke into wastewater lines to find areas where the main lines have leaks. AUB spokesman Wayne Scarbrough said both instances downtown involved buildings with an empty toilet so there was no water barrier to prevent the smoke from entering the buildings.
Scarbrough said AUB contacts the fire department every morning to inform them where they will be conducting smoke tests and sent out news releases before testing began. But he said he understood with testing going on across several weeks how it can slip people's minds and he would much rather people be safe than sorry if they spot smoke in their buildings.
He said people may see similar incidents in their homes if they have an unused or empty sink or toilet. Scarbrough suggested people keep water in the sink and toilet traps and ensure there is adequate pipe venting because the smoke might also indicate other problems like th
Firefighters responded to the Murray Willis Edward Jones office on White Street Tuesday morning. This morning, they responded to Pope Law Offices on Washington Avenue after smoke was sighted in the building.
Neither case turned out to be an actual fire. The smoke was caused by Athens Utilities Board pouring smoke into wastewater lines to find areas where the main lines have leaks. AUB spokesman Wayne Scarbrough said both instances downtown involved buildings with an empty toilet so there was no water barrier to prevent the smoke from entering the buildings.
Scarbrough said AUB contacts the fire department every morning to inform them where they will be conducting smoke tests and sent out news releases before testing began. But he said he understood with testing going on across several weeks how it can slip people's minds and he would much rather people be safe than sorry if they spot smoke in their buildings.
He said people may see similar incidents in their homes if they have an unused or empty sink or toilet. Scarbrough suggested people keep water in the sink and toilet traps and ensure there is adequate pipe venting because the smoke might also indicate other problems like th
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