Fire Prevention Week: Prevent home fires

***image1***The KMC Fire and Emergency Services Flight will be observing Fire Prevention Week from Sunday to Oct. 11.

Fire Prevention Week is observed on the first full week of October every year. It started with the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, when a fire broke out in a Chicago neighborhood Oct. 8.

There are many speculations as to how the fire started. The most popular story of the legend is that Mrs. O’Leary was milking her cow when the animal kicked over a
lantern, setting fire to the barn and spreading through the city, burning more than 2,000 acres in a little more than 24 hours. The tragic fire killed about 300 people, left 100,000 homeless and destroyed more than 17,000 buildings.

The city managed to rebuild and recover from one of the largest fire disasters in the city’s history. Many of the residents decided to come together every year to memorialize the anniversary of the fire with festivities.

The official marking of the fire prevention campaign was marked by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge the week of Oct. 4 to 10, 1925. During the first campaign, President Coolidge proclaimed that every year fire departments would come together to place a focus on fire prevention to avoid the same type of tragedy that was experienced in Chicago in 1871.

The KMC has experienced several fires over the last year. Thankfully, the community has not experienced a death from these fires. Cooking fires, especially grease fires, continue to be the most common cause of a fire. Most of the fires in the community could have been avoided with simple procedures including not leaving food unattended while cooking, keeping matches and lighters out of the reach of children and keeping combustible materials away from heat sources. 
 
From Sunday until Oct. 11 and throughout the month of October, the KMC Fire and Emergency Services Flight will celebrate Fire Prevention Week 2008 with the theme “It’s fire prevention week: Prevent home fires!” 

The fire department will set up information booths in the community and will offer fire station tours. The fire department will also post fire safety messages on the housing marquee signs. During the campaign, there will be appearances from Sparky the Fire Dog and Smokey Bear, who invite everyone in the community to practice fire safety throughout the year.

The KMC Fire and Emergency Services Flight would like to invite everyone in the KMC to practice fire safety during fire prevention week and throughout the year.
The National Fire Protection Association has stated on their Web site that in 2007, U.S. fire departments responded to a fire every 20 seconds.

The thought of that many responses in the United States is shocking, considering that most can be avoided by sitting down with your family and discussing prevention techniques like having an escape plan, having working smoke detectors in your home and purchasing a fire extinguisher and learning how to use it. 
 
It is important to keep in mind that with a little fire safety knowledge, fire can be prevented. Remember the easiest fire to fight … is the one YOU prevent.

(Courtesy of 435th Civil Engineer Squadron)