Local woman gives back to community through fire extinguishers

According to the National Fire Council, 65% of firefighters across the nation are volunteers.

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A local business found itself with a surplus of fire extinguishers, and that is when one employee came up with an idea to help her neighbors. Vanessa Poteet has always been an advocate for her community.

Poteet felt it was necessary to donate fire extinguishers to the Lowndes County District 1 Fire Department.

“I just try to help out a little bit cause fires do happen, and it’s better I guess to at least have something to get you to at least get you out of your home safely,” Poteet said. “It might not put out the fire but it might save your life long enough to get out.”

A fire extinguisher has an expiration date for how long it can remain in a business, but that does not mean it is not effective.

“I may have 30 or 40 extinguishers that are perfectly good, and I don’t want to throw them away, but they can’t be in a business,” Poteet said. “I try to just give those out.”

According to the National Fire Council, 65% of firefighters across the nation are volunteers.

Chad Surunis at the volunteer fire department said these fire extinguishers will help them in more ways than one and recommends you have one in your home.

“If a house fire starts, which most the time it starts in the kitchens,” Surunis said. If someone has one available, it can mitigate the fire, or put it out completely, or at least buy the family valuable time until we can get there to put it out.”

Both Poteet and Surunis agree everyone needs a fire extinguisher – and the way to remember how to use it is so easy a child could remember it.

Use the acronym PASS: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep.

“You need one because, you can prevent a total loss of your home, injuries to anybody,” Surunis said. “That’s our livelihood. We all work hard for it, taking that chance of not having something to mitigate it, it’s not worth it.”

Poteet said just because you use it doesn’t mean you have to throw it away.

You can bring it to the service building and have it refilled.

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