10/04/2024
Keep yourself safe UT ! A reminder from our City of Uniontown Firefighters 🚒.
Good morning, all, as we head into National Fire Prevention Week next week.
However, as I always say, around our department, fire prevention is more than just a week, it is 52 a year! We are continuously involved in outreach and fire prevention activities all year long. It really ramps up for us in October, however.
The National Fire Protection Association has set the annual theme for fire prevention week as Smoke Alarms, Make Them Work For You. It's a good reminder for all, regardless of the type of detection you have in your home or business, to check them as prescribed, and for those requiring batteries, as an example, the non-sealed ten-year type for instance, to change the batteries as prescribed (the NFPA recommends the "change your clocks, change your batteries" theme to remember this).
Even with hard wired detection, be it interconnected smoke detectors, or an actual monitored alarm system, you will have some type of battery backup. Make sure detectors are kept clean and free of dust accumulation, and are not past the prescribed age, which is usually 10 years.
A lot of fire prevention falls down to using good sense and being situationally aware and careful, but of any and everything, having early detection and an escape plan, and alternate plan, is the key to saving lives.
Regarding residential occupancies (primarily single-family dwellings, but true even in apartments), a detector on every level of the house plus one in every bedroom is the MINIMUM recommendation (you can never go overkill in adding more).
One last thought, remember "Close before you doze", meaning sleep with the bedroom door closed. You would be surprised in how effective this is at holding off fire and smoke spread. If your regular exit is blocked, it might just buy you the time you need to use your alternate escape plan.
Just a little bit of history on the yearly campaign, Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 (a little-known fact, an even deadlier, rural fire was occurring that same day in Pestigo, Wisconsin). On the 40th anniversary (1911) of the fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America (FMANA), the oldest membership section of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), sponsored the first National Fire Prevention Day, deciding to observe the anniversary as a way to keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention. In May 1919, when the NFPA held its 23rd annual meeting in Ottawa at the invitation of the Dominion Fire Prevention Association (DFPA), the NFPA and DFPA both passed resolutions urging governments in the United States and Canada to support the campaign for a common Fire Prevention Day. This was expanded to Fire Prevention Week in 1922.
To conclude, our department offers outreach, training, public fire education programs for all ages, and witnesses fire drills to groups, educational facilities, places of worship, and places of assembly within the City of Uniontown. If this is a service your facility or group might need, please call the Central Fire Station at 724-438-6900, and we will work on getting something scheduled for you. Be safe everyone and thank you.
- Chief Conn
