Fire Prevention Week scheduled Oct. 4-10

  • Published
  • By 66th Civil Engineering Division Fire Emergency Services
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Hanscom firefighters will be out spreading the word on fire prevention and life safety Oct. 4 through 10 as part of National Fire Prevention Week. This year's theme is: "Hear the Beep Where You Sleep: Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!"

As part of the week-long event, Hanscom's Fire Emergency Services team will host activities at the Child Development Center, Hanscom Primary School and Army and Air Force Exchange Service to raise fire prevention awareness in the community.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, roughly half of home fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when most people are asleep. Nearly 3,000 people die each year in home fires; many of those deaths can be avoided with the proper smoke alarm protection.

"The goal of the Hanscom Fire Emergency Services is to better educate the members of our community on fire and life safety issues," according to Glenn F. Haffner, chief for Prevention and Life Safety. "Most people have a sense of complacency about smoke alarms or detectors because they already have one in their homes."

Haffner added that Fire Prevention Week provides an excellent opportunity to re-educate families about smoke alarms and the importance of home fire escape planning.

The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Week campaign encourages smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of your home, including the basement. Larger homes may require more alarms.

Haffner said that when it comes to smoke alarms, it's about "location, location, location."

Through educational forums and family-oriented activities, residents can learn more about the power of smoke alarms, newer options for installing and maintaining them properly and how to better protect their loved ones from fire.

"We have a strict fire protection program at Hanscom," said Capt. Robert J. Kenyon, fire inspector and public education specialist. "We practice fire prevention measures, conduct fire extinguisher training and fire safety briefings."

In addition, Kenyon said they perform perform routine fire drills at many offices on base, educational and youth facilities as well as at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory complexes.

Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of October 1871, a two-day blaze that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 more homeless and destroyed more than 17,000 buildings.

"That tragedy inspired reform across America, spurring new fire safety codes and public awareness campaigns," said Kenyon. "Each year, the president of the United States, along with the National Fire Protection Association, declares the first week of October Fire Prevention Week."

Even though Fire Prevention Week is an event recognized each October, Haffner said, fire safety and prevention is a year-round safety necessity.

"It could save your life." To learn more about Fire Prevention Week programs and activities at Hanscom, contact the Hanscom Fire Prevention section at 781- 225-5600.

For further information on smoke alarms, visit NFPA's website at www.firepreventionweek.org.