Chapter 2: Reporting the Story

Discover—Reporting

Smoke Alarms - WFLA-TV, Tampa, Fla.

Victoria Lim, senior consumer reporter at WFLA-TV in Tampa, Fla., often reports her stories for television, print and the Web. She says her story about smoke alarms clearly lent itself to all three.

It started with a phone call from the public information officer at the Tampa Fire Rescue Department. He had found a study that claimed talking smoke alarms were more effective at waking up kids than alarms that emit a sound. He wanted to know what she thought of the results.

"I knew right away that I wanted to take the consumer angle and do a product test. These talking alarms are 3-to-4 times more expensive than regular alarms, so I wanted people to know if they were worth the extra cost," Lim said. As she began her reporting, she kept the strength of each medium in mind.

Lim found two different families, one with small children and one with a teenager. The goal was to test both types of alarms on both families. Lim felt that hearing the two different types of alarms and showing the video of the children waking up or not waking up would have the most power on television. But Lim knew her plan might also pose a problem. "Making four different trips to these homes to show people how the children reacted added up to 1:30 very quickly, too quickly. To do it right, we needed more time," Lim said.

Ultimately, Lim was able to get five minutes for her TV story, but even with that much extra time, she was not able to include all the important information she had learned. So she used the Web to provide another unique and relevant angle—details on how to develop a fire escape plan. "We could have made a list of tips, but that wasn't taking full advantage of the medium, so we created an online video demonstration and then threw in pertinent links."

For her print column, Lim was able to go even further, offering advice to people who live in apartments and condominiums. Lim says having the ability to report one story from multiple angles is important for serving audiences well. "We're reporting an attention-grabbing story on TV, and then offering interactivity online and following up with more depth in print," Lim said.

Take a look at Lim's smoke alarm stories to see how she told them differently in each medium: http://www.tbo.com/news/money/
consumer/20061114smokealarm.htm

(Note: Lim's print column is not included as an element in the online multimedia package, but we have posted it here.)

Drills Reveal Smoke Alarms Can't Always Wake Children

[FINAL Edition]
Tampa Tribune - Tampa, Fla.
Author: VICTORIA LIM
Date: Dec 3, 2006>
Start Page: 1
Section: BUSINESS
Text Word Count: 552

Document Text
Sunday December 03, 2006

Section BUSINESS

Page 1
Drills Reveal Smoke Alarms Can't Always Wake Children
By VICTORIA LIM
vlim@wfla.com

With each shriek of the smoke alarm, Mary Clark of Tampa became more and more anxious. The doors and windows to the house were all closed. But the ear-piercing beeps were so loud, even her neighbors who stood in her driveway could hear them.

But her 3-year-old son JC and their 7-year-old neighbor Brianna didn't. Both slept through the alarm perched just a few feet from the bedroom.

There was no fire. No smoke. It was fortunately just a home fire drill. But that didn't ease Clark's mind. "It's very scary, not knowing if he's going to wake up. What if I can't wake him up or don't hear it?" Clark said.

Studies conducted by researchers in Columbus, Ohio, including those from the Children's Hospital and Children's Research Institute, show children ages 6 through 12 sleep so soundly that even smoke alarms don't wake them. And if they do wake, the response time is so delayed, that in the case of a real fire, it could be too late.

"It could be devastating," said Capt. Bill Wade of Tampa Fire Rescue.

Tests such as the one at Clark's home reinforce the need for "parents to have a plan to respond to the smoke alarm and obviously not rely on kids to get themselves out of the house."

A tone alarm and an alarm that allowed Clark to record her voice and specifically address her child by name were set off after the children fell asleep. Neither woke them, even after four minutes.

She is now considering a wireless smoke alarm system that has units in various locations within the house, including an alarm in her child's bedroom. Wade said the system triggers all of the alarms to sound when one detects smoke.

But he cautions parents against only placing a smoke alarm in the child's bedroom. Units in the hallway leading to bedrooms still are necessary.

"More than likely, [the bedroom alarm] will not be the first smoke alarm to sound. It's probably not the place where the fire will start," Wade said.

For families in multilevel structures such as two-story homes, townhouses, and apartment buildings, Wade reminds parents to teach their children how to escape a fire, especially when they can't leave through the front door.

Consider the ease of opening the window. Once they do that, how will they get to the ground? Are there cars or bushes underneath the window?

"A 13-year-old young man in average condition may be able to jump from a second-floor window to the ground and be OK. But can a 5-year-old do that? Can a 10-year-old do that?" Wade asked.

Fire safety is a particular concern during the holidays, when extra lights and candles are prevalent. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Christmas trees are involved in 300 home fires a year.

So squeeze in some safety time between those shopping trips. It could ensure a safe holiday season for you and your family.

Keyword: Smoke Alarm, to watch Victoria Lim's special report on testing smoke alarms and how to develop a family fire safety plan.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com

Credit: vlim@wfla.com

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.