Fire Marshal: Peter Vlahos
Email: Peter Vlahos
Phone: 248-433-7746
Fax: 248-642-7618
The Bloomfield Township Fire Department places a high priority on fire prevention activities. The Fire Prevention Division is responsible for Fire Inspections, Life Safety Building Code review and enforcement, Fire Investigations, Public Education, Emergency Management and maintenance of Firefighter Right-to-know data.
Smoke Detectors
Make sure that your smoke detectors work. The life of smoke detectors is 10 years. If your smoke detectors are more than 10 years old they should be replaced.
Remember to test your smoke detectors once a month and replace the batteries once a year. An excellent reminder is daylight savings time. Remember when you change your clock, change your battery. It is also recommended that smoke detectors be located on every floor, in each bedroom and that they be interconnected so that when one detector activates they all sound an alarm. There are currently detectors on the market that communicate through radio waves, eliminating the need to wire them together.
Smoke Alarms at Home
CO Detectors
Carbon monoxide is a colorless odorless gas that is created by the combustion of carbon based fuels. It also connects to blood cells at a rate 200 times faster than oxygen, asphyxiating the victims. The only way to detect this deadly gas in your home is with carbon monoxide detectors. It is recommended that you install a carbon monoxide detector on each level of your home. We recommend the type that plug into a 110 volt outlet and give you a digital read out of the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air.
Carbon Monoxide Safety
Fireplaces
Each year in Bloomfield Township we have many fires related to fireplaces. Here are some tips to help you enjoy your fireplace in a safe manner.
- Make sure that your chimney is cleaned each year by a reputable, licensed contractor. When they clean the chimney they will also inspect the system as a whole and point out things that need to be repaired or could cause a fire.
- Keep fires in the fireplaces small, burning only one or two logs at a time.
- Wait for at least 24 hours before removing the ashes, put them in an empty Metal Can, and set them outside, away from the house and the garage. The Bloomfield Township Fire Department responds to a number of fires each year caused by ashes that were handled improperly.
Cooking Safety
- Clean your oven and range before the holidays to prevent grease build-up that can fuel a fire.
- If a fire occurs in the oven, leave the door closed and call 911.
- If a fire occurs on the range top cover the pan with the lid, turn off the burner, slide the pan to another burner, off the heat and call 911. Even if you think the fire is out it is still a good idea to have the fire department check for hidden fires that may be burning.
- Never throw water on a grease fire. This will only cause it to flare up and possibly set near- by combustibles, such as drapes on fire.
- Never try to carry a flaming pan outside. The flames and heat could come back at you or you could spill the flaming grease, burning yourself or setting the house on fire. You could also ignite the drapes or window treatments as you move through the doorway.
- If deep frying your turkey, place the fryer away from the house, garage, or anything else that may catch fire. Have a fire extinguisher handy. In some cases the grease will overflow and is ignited by the burner. If the burner is in the garage or too close to the house, the result can be a house and/or garage fire.
Grilling Safety
There’s nothing like outdoor grilling. It’s one of the most popular ways to cook food. But a grill placed too close to anything that can burn is a fire hazard. Click the link below to read more about grilling safely.
Recreational Fires
Bloomfield Township’s Code of Ordinance, Chapter 16, Section 27, among other things, prohibits open burning except for small recreational fires at one-family or two-family dwellings. For more information about this ordinance, please call 248-433-7745 or view the Burning Ordinances page.
- Here are some tips designed for the safety of you and your family concerning small recreational fires.
- Fire is fascinating to young children. Make sure your children are supervised at all times. No horseplay around the fire. Burns caused by falling into the fire are very common.
- Never light a campfire in high winds. If the wind kicks up while the fire is burning, extinguish it immediately. Under federal law you are responsible for the fire you light. This means if you lose control of the fire you are responsible for the cost to extinguish it as well as for the damage it causes.
- Never leave a fire unattended. Make sure your campfire is thoroughly extinguished before leaving it.
- Always have a bucket of water, a hose, or a fire extinguisher close by in case an emergency occurs.
- Keep combustible material away from the fire.
Residential Lock Boxes and Knox Boxes
The Fire Department offers multiple options for our Residential Fire Department Lock Box Program.
A lock box is a small metal box, which is installed outside of an individual’s home containing a key to the residence. The box is locked by a special key, to which only the Fire and Police departments have access to. In the event of an emergency, the Fire Department can use the special key to open the lock box and access your house key to gain entry into your home, therefore eliminating damage to your home from forcible entry.
More Fire Safety Tips
Public Education
The Bloomfield Township Fire Department places a high priority on public education. Several years ago, the fire department developed a safety education program within the Bloomfield Hills School district. The program is taught to second grade students throughout the district using the National Fire Protection Association’s Risk Watch curriculum, along with the Bloomfield Township Fire Safety Trailer and the Model-Tech Hazard House. Over the years this program has won several awards and is being presented to the American Burn Association at their National Conference in Palm Springs, California.
The Fire Prevention Division also arranges fire station tours, school visits and holds an Open House each year during National Fire Prevention Week. Call us for details!
Residential Home Inspections
The Fire Safety Inspection Program is to assist residents of Bloomfield Township in making their homes safer and reduce the possibility of a devastating fire. The Fire Department strongly encourages all homeowners to conduct a home fire safety inspection annually of their residence.
Please use the residential fire safety check sheet to assist you in making your home a safer place for you and your family. The homeowner or responsible person should conduct the inspection using the checklist or may request assistance from the Bloomfield Township Fire Department. We will provide the home inspection service free of charge to Bloomfield Township residents upon request.
For questions regarding the program or to schedule a home fire safety inspection please call the Bloomfield Township Fire Prevention Division at 248-433-7745.
Fire Safety Inspection Program Form