Fire safety begins with awareness, prevention Published Oct. 1, 2008 By Minot Air Force Base Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- With Fire Prevention Week taking place nationwide Oct. 5 to 11, the Airmen and civilians of the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron fire emergency services flight here have big plans for ways to emphasize this year's campaign: "Prevent Home Fires!" "We have outreach programs at the elementary schools and the Head Start program on base," said David Richard, 5th CES fire emergency services flight fire inspector. "We also go to Lynch Immanual Preschool off base." "There will also be an auto extrication demonstration at the base exchange Oct. 7 and a parade through base housing Oct. 10 starting at 5 p.m," Mr. Richard added. Mr. Richard said the parade is to help raise awareness of Fire Prevention Week. "Hopefully the kids will get on their parents to test their smoke detectors and practice safe escapes from their home," he said. Mr. Richard also said the flight planned on having information booths at the Base Exchange, as well as at the Dakota Square Mall in conjunction with the City of Minot Fire Department. Overall, Mr. Richard hoped Fire Prevention Week was a way to keep fire safety at the forefront of people's minds. "We realize the government and its employees spend a lot of hard-earned money on things for work and play," he said. "It could all be gone in a matter of seconds because someone didn't think or care about what they were doing." Eric Pietrylo, 5th CES deputy fire chief, agreed about how important the observance week was. "Fire Prevention Week is key because setting aside this week of each year can make the difference between success or failure in surviving a fire," he said. "The emphasis of the week-long campaign is to educate and ultimately stop someone from being injured or worse, and to reduce damage to property as a result of fire." Mr. Pietrylo said an estimated 530,500 structure fires were reported to fire departments in 2007, a slight increase of 1.2 percent. Of the structure fires, 414,000 were residential fires, accounting for 78.0 percent of all structure fires, and a very slight increase of 0.4 percent from the year before. Of the residential structure fires, 300,500 occurred in one- and two-family dwellings, accounting for 56.6 percent of all structure fires. Another 98,500 occurred in apartments, accounting for 18.6 percent of all structure fires and an increase of 7.7 percent from the year before. While these statistics are frightening, Mr. Richard said many of the fires could have been prevented. "Sometimes we just need to slow down and actually think about what we're trying to accomplish, instead of trying to do things as fast as possible so we can move on to the next task," he said. Mr. Pietrylo also said many of these tragedies could have been avoided if people adopted a mindset that an investment in fire prevention is worth the return. "If people would stick to the basics, their lives would be much safer," said Mr. Pietrylo. "Try to remember to do the little things like attention to detail when cooking, exercising safe use of candles, ensuring electrical cords and circuits aren't misused, and testing smoke detectors." While both Mr. Richard and Mr. Pietrylo agree the week-long event is important, they both say fire prevention shouldn't be forgotten after the week is done. "Fire Prevention Week is great but we need to practice it all year round," said Mr. Richard. "Many people get complacent after they've been doing the same thing year after year and tend to take shortcuts. That's when preventable accidents happen." Mr. Pietrylo agreed and said the key may be learning at least one new thing. "Take at least a brief moment to weigh what you already know regarding fire safety and learn one new concept that can serve as a tool to benefit your family, you and the Air Force mission," he said. Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, which killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began Oct. 8 1871, but continued into and did most of its damage Oct. 9. In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and, since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed the Sunday through Saturday period in which Oct. 9 falls. Here are some tips to help prevent home fires: Be careful when you cook. Stay in the kitchen when frying, broiling or grilling food. The leading cause of kitchen fires is unattended cooking. Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking. To extinguish a pan fire, slide a lid over the pan and turn off the burner. Allow the pan to completely cool before removing the lid. To extinguish an oven fire, keep the oven door closed and turn off the stove. If you have a small stovetop fire and don't feel comfortable attempting to extinguish the fire, get out of the house and call the fire department for help. Have your central heating equipment serviced every year by a professional. Space-heaters account for one-third of home-heating fires and three-fourths of all home-heating fire deaths. Have your chimney cleaned and inspected before each heating season. Failure to clean chimneys is the leading cause of chimney fires. Keep space-heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn. Turn off space-heaters when you leave the room or go to bed. Smokers should smoke outside the home. Smoking is a leading cause of fire deaths. Smoking outside the home will prevent a fire from being started by a discarded cigarette. Provide large, deep and sturdy ashtrays. Keep matches and lighters in a locked cabinet out of reach of children. Make sure electrical cords are in good condition, not frayed or cracked. Sixty-five percent of reported home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Install a smoke alarm in every bedroom, outside of every sleeping area, and on every level of your home and test them monthly. For more information on Fire Prevention Week, contact 723-3561/6690.