Outline Specific Purpose: To inform my audience that fire prevention is simple, and not time consuming. Central Idea: Fire destroys many homes and live, but if one takes a few simple steps, prevention and survival of a fire can be done. Introduction I. Have you ever been woke up by a fire truck screaming down your street? A. Fire is an untrustworthy ally B. Im here to tell you about what fire has done recently to destroy homes and lives and inform you of a few simple steps that can prevent a fire from happening to you. Body I. The U.S. has one of the highs fire death rates in the industrialized world. A. In 1997, for ever million in population, 15.2 people died in fires B. Between 1993 and 1997 1. 4,500 Americans lost their lives and an additional 26,500 were injured as a result of fire. 2. About 100 firefighters were killed in duty-related incidents. 3. Each year, fire kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined. 4. About 2 million fires are reported each year, many more go unreported. 5. Estimated direct property loss is $8.5 billion annually. C. Residential fires represent 23% of all fires. 1. Cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S. 2. Careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths, followed by heating failure, and arson. (transition: We all know the destructive force of what a fire can do, and Ive only mentioned a few. Simple careless mistakes can start a fire, but its even easier to prevent a fire) II. Here are a few helpful hints A. If you have electric space heaters 1 Dont use an extension cord on space heaters 2. Unplug heaters when they are not being used 3. Keep heaters away from furniture and curtains. 4. Dont dry your clothes, gloves, or other items on a space heater. B. When thinking about electrical wiring 1. replace worn cords 2. dont run cords under rugs 3. dont overload outlets C. Smoke Alarms!!! 1. Check once a month 2. Change batteries twice a year (Transition: In the event of a fir...
