The Delano Fire Department and Wright County Human Services do not conduct car seat inspections. Follow this link to find car seat checks near you.

It's the law

Minnesota seat belt law says that drivers and passengers in all seating positions must buckle up or be in the correct child safety seat. A seat belt ticket can cost more than $100. When transporting a child under age 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches, use a child restraint appropriate for the child's height and weight. 

Need a Car Seat? 

Wright County Public Health has car seats available free of charge for families with low income or who cannot buy their own car seats for their children.

Additionally, children and pregnant women enrolled in Medical Assistance may be eligible to receive a free car seat through their health insurance provider.

Call/Text (763) 335-0280 to learn more or to schedule an appointment. Appointments can be made at the Wright County Government Center, Health & Human Services, 3650 Braddock Avenue NE, Suite 2100, Buffalo MN 55313.

A $10 donation to our Child Passenger Safety program is suggested.

Recycle Expired or Damaged Seats

Follow this link for information from Wright County Compost Recycling Facility on recycling expired or damaged car seats.

Often called the invisible killer, carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon monoxide. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

• The dangers of CO exposure depend on a number of variables, including the victim's health and activity level. Infants, pregnant women, and people with physical conditions that limit their body's ability to use oxygen (i.e. emphysema, asthma, heart disease) can be more severely affected by lower concentrations of CO than healthy adults would be.
• A person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer period of time or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.
• In 2016, local fire departments responded to an estimated 79,600 carbon monoxide incidents or an average of nine such calls per hour. This does not include the 91,400 carbon monoxide alarm malfunctions and the 68,000 unintentional carbon monoxide alarms.
• Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics shows that in 2017, 399 people died of unintentional non-fire carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Get to know Carbon Monoxide Alarms

NFPA Toolkit: Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Devastating home fires are all too common. By taking fire precautions at home, you could help prevent the fire before it starts. Common, everyday tasks that typically go unnoticed can ultimately be the cause of a house fire. To help eliminate any fear that you and your family have, it’s important to invest in the proper fire safety equipment that will alert you in the case of an emergency. 

More information can be found on the National Fire Protection Association Website.

What are the top fire causes? 

Cooking Fires:

Cooking was the leading cause of reported home fires and home fire injuries in 2015-2019 and the second leading cause of home fire deaths. Cooking caused 49 percent of reported home fires, 20 percent of reported home fire deaths, and 42 percent of home fire injuries. In 2019, Thanksgiving was the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

Heating

Local fire departments responded to an estimated average of 44,210 fires involving heating equipment per year in 2016-2020, accounting for 13% of all reported home fires during this time. These fires resulted in annual losses of 480 civilian deaths, 1,370 civilian injuries, and more than $1 billion in direct property damage

Electrical

Electricity helps make our lives easier but there are times when we can take its power and its potential for fire-related hazards for granted. NFPA actively supports National Electrical Safety Month, an annual campaign in May sponsored by the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), which works to raise awareness of potential home electrical hazards, the importance of electrical fire safety, and the safety of electrical workers. To help reduce your risk, NFPA and ESFI recommend that you have all electrical work done by a qualified electrician, including electrical inspections, when buying or remodeling a home. In the video below, Brett Brenner, President of ESFI, offers tips residents can follow to help keep homes safer from electrical fires, in this age of smart home technology.

Smoking

Smoking materials, including cigarettes, pipes, and cigars, started an estimated 16,500 home structure fires reported to U.S. fire departments in 2016. These fires caused 660 deaths, 1,060 injuries, and $372 million in direct property damage. Smoking materials caused 5% of reported home fires, 23% of home fire deaths, 10% of home fire injuries, and 6% of direct property damage.

Candles

From 2015-2019 U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 7,400 home structure fires that were started by candles per year. These fires caused an annual average of 90 deaths, 670 injuries and $291 million in direct property damage.

A portable fire extinguisher can save lives and property by putting out a small fire or containing it until the fire department arrives, but portable extinguishers have limitations. Because fire grows and spreads so rapidly, the #1 priority for residents is to get out safely.

Fire extinguishers are one element of a fire response plan, but the primary element is safe escape. Every household should have a home fire escape plan and working smoke alarms.

Safety tips

• Use a portable fire extinguisher when the fire is confined to a small area, such as a wastebasket, and is not growing; everyone has exited the building; the fire department has been called or is being called; and the room is not filled with smoke.
• To operate a fire extinguisher, remember the word PASS:
  • Pull the pin. Hold the extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you, and release the locking mechanism.
  • Aim low. Point the extinguisher at the base of the fire.
  • Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly.
  • Sweep the nozzle from side-to-side.
• For the home, select a multi-purpose extinguisher (can be used on all types of home fires) that is large enough to put out a small fire, but not so heavy as to be difficult to handle.
• Choose a fire extinguisher that carries the label of an independent testing laboratory.
• Read the instructions that come with the fire extinguisher and become familiar with its parts and operation before a fire breaks out. Local fire departments or fire equipment distributors often offer hands-on fire extinguisher trainings.
• Install fire extinguishers close to an exit and keep your back to a clear exit when you use the device so you can make an easy escape if the fire cannot be controlled. If the room fills with smoke, leave immediately.
• Know when to go. Fire extinguishers are one element of a fire response plan, but the primary element is safe escape. Every household should have a home fire escape plan and working smoke alarms.

Plan Ahead! Your ability to get out of your home during a fire depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning

Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home. Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of their home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.