Home Safety & Wellness | West Metro Fire Protection District

PREPARE: Please take a moment to make sure you are doing all you can to protect your home and the people who live there.

SMOKE ALARMS - installation & maintenance

SMOKE ALARMS: Be sure your home has working smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.

Using a 10-year battery-powered smoke alarms eliminates the need to change your batteries multiple times a year.

If your alarm takes 9-V batteries, you should be changing your batteries every 6 months.

No matter if your alarm is hardwired, powered by 9V batteries or equipped with a 10-year Lithium battery, if you hear a chirp, you need to replace the batteries or the entire unit. Even if the alarm seems to be functioning well, smoke alarms should be retired after 10 years of use.

Smoke and co alarms should be installed per the manufacturers guidelines. Click to see where smoke alarms should be located in your home.

Click here to learn more about our low-cost smoke and co alarm program

Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, outside each sleeping area, and inside each bedroom.

CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS - installation & maintenance

Know where potential CO sources are in your home

CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) DETECTORS: Carbon Monoxide cannot be seen, smelled or heard. But it can be detected with properly installed Co detectors. A carbon monoxide detector should be installed on every floor of your home, including the basement.

Locate detectors within 10 feet of each bedroom door and there should be one near or over any attached garage, especially if you have a battery unit used for back-up power for your home and/or charging an electric vehicle. Each detector should be replaced every five to six years - see manufacturer guide for more information.

Common household sources of CO include: Dryers, Water heaters, furnaces, & boilers, wood-burning or gas fireplaces & wood stoves, gas stoves/ovens, motor vehicles and boats, grills, camp stoves, and fuel-burning lanterns, generators, power tools and lawn equipment.

Click here to learn more about our low-cost smoke and co alarm program

BBQ & FIRE PITS - here is what you need to know (and do)

Be sure to keep your grill clean, keep a 3-foot safe zone around your cooking area, keep you grill away from your home and other combustibles

BBQ Regulations & Safety

West Metro Fire receives many inquiries about what is allowed with regard to barbeque grills.

Click here for BBQ and Fire Pit Regulations

You are responsible for knowing if there are burn bans currently in effect. Information can be found on the County Sheriff’s website.

Jefferson County Fire/Burn Ban Status Douglas County Fire/Burn Ban Status

WHERES YOUR HOUSEHOLD'S SAFE MEETING PLACE?

HOME ESCAPE PLAN: Don't wait until an emergency happens to realize you should have created an escape plan. Plan ahead and discuss what you and everyone who lives in your household should do if a fire occurs in the home. Know 2 ways out of every room, be sure to practice getting low under smoke and getting OUT. As a household, choose a meeting place outside of the home, so in an emergency, you all have a safe place to meet. This will help ensure you and the fire department knows if everyone is out of the home or if someone is still inside.

Having a safe meeting place is important for your family as well as our firefighters who will risk their lives to find your loved ones. Having everyone in one place keeps our firefighters safe. And remember - once you are OUT, stay OUT. Do not go back in for animals or material items.

Click here to create your home escape plan Version - Espanol

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS - sign up and do your part

Click for Jefferson County Emergency Alerts

Click for Douglas County Emergency Alerts

Click for your Emergency Kit guide

Click to set up your SMART911

Click to Request a File of Life

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS

Stay informed about local emergencies as they happen by signing up for emergency alerts in your area

Jefferson County - Lookout Alert is the official emergency notification system of the regional collaborative of Jefferson County and all cities within it, the City and County of Broomfield and the City of Westminster. Through LookoutAlert, emergency responders can send emergency and public safety messages to residents. View FAQs.

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS

Stay informed about local emergencies as they happen by signing up for emergency alerts in your area

Douglas County - CodeRED (Reverse 911) will alert you by phone, email and text about emergencies in your area. It will also provide you instructions on what to do to protect life and property. The system will notify you about police activity, lost children, wildfires, and other emergencies nearby.

PACK AN EMERGENCY KIT

No one ever expects an emergency to happen when it does, so the best thing you can do is...Be Prepared.

Use the Emergency Kit guide to ensure you are ready if an emergency occurs.

SMART911 PROFILE

Smart911 allows you to create a safety profile for yourself and your household. Safety profiles can include the vital personal and medical information for each member of the home, a photo for each person and list any pets that may be in the home. This is provided provided directly to 9-1-1 when you call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency, allowing dispatchers to send the right responders to the right location with the right information.

REQUEST A FILE OF LIFE

The File of Life is a card which contains vital personal medical information and is kept on the outside of your refrigerator in a bright red magnetic pocket, readily accessible to EMTs when they arrive on an emergency call.

PREVENT - Take action to prevent injuries and damage that can negatively impact your quality of life.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO IMPROVE BALANCE AND MOBILITY?

Stay Active and improve your balance with the free Nymbl App

Did you know that most injuries can be prevented?

Why would you set yourself up for a potentially life changing injury when you can take a few steps to prevent serious injuries from happening to you and your loved ones?

Here are a few helpful tips for preventing injuries in and around your home:

Improve your balance and reduce your risk of injury by downloading the Nymbl App, Its free if you are 60 years of age or over!
You only get one brain and brain damage is not easily reversed - Wear a helmet whenever you are riding on anything that moves (firefighters do...)
Establish a three-foot safety clearance around all hot surfaces or open flames.
Lock up matches and lighters – keep them out of reach from children.
Get rid of any flaming candles and only use battery operated candles in your home.

CAR SEAT INSTALLATION - Have you made your appointment?

Did you know West Metro Fire Rescue offers car seat checks and installs provided by our certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians?

Learn how to install your seat correctly, what seat is appropriate for your child now, and when it is appropriate to move them into a new type of seat. We install infant only, rear-facing, forward-facing, convertible, combination, boosters, and specialty seats.

Installing car seats correctly can significantly reduce the risk of injury or death in case of a car accident. Car seats provide a secure and comfortable position for children to sit in, ensuring that they are protected from impact and any sudden movements.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR A CAR SEAT APPOINTMENT

Car Seat Appointments are offered twice a month at West Metro Fire Station 10 - 3535 S Kipling Street.

Click the button above to sign up via SignUp Genius.

KNOW YOUR WILDFIRE RISK & do your part to stay safe

Ready Set Go Personal Wildfire Action plan

Click for the Ready Set Go Brochure

Since 2005, more than 89,000 homes have been lost in fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) in the U.S. More than 3,200 homes were destroyed along the Front Range of Colorado between 2005-2021.

It is essential that you take responsibility to protect yourself, your family, and your property.

Click on the button below to assess your home's wildfire risk and read through this guide that will help you navigate the process of reducing the vulnerability of your family and home to wildfire.

Click to view the Wildfire Risk Assessment Map

More people live in places where wildfire is a risk. But communities are also getting smarter at how to better adapt homes, landscapes, and other community assets to fire. Is your community fire adapted? Get started today by using the tools available through the Fire Adapted Communities program. Visit fireadaptedco.org - your link to information and resources to help you, your neighbors and your entire community reduce wildfire risk.

Additional safety information for your home:

Post the Poison Control Center phone number with your emergency numbers: 1-800-222-1222
Register with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to receive product safety information and notification regarding product recalls.
Use Safe Kids Worldwide’s safety tips and home safety checklist to go room by room through your home.