Fire Prevention Week: Protect Your Family from Fire

Reproduced from NFPA's Fire Prevention Week Website
www.firepreventionweek.org. ©2011 NFPA.

Fire Prevention Week is October 9 through 15 this year and the theme for the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) campaign is "Protect Your Family From Fire."

A fire prevention day was officially declared in 1920 by President Woodrow Wilson to honor those who died and were injured in two historical fires 50 years earlier: The Great Chicago Fire, which broke out on October 8, 1871 and did most of it's damage on October 9, killing more than 250 people and destroying more than 17,400 structures, and The Great Peshtigo Fire, which also started on October 8, 1871 in Wisconsin and roared through the Northeast part of the state, killing 1,152 people, burning 16 towns and destroying 1.2 million acres before it finally ended.

Several years later, Fire Prevention Week was observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls, and now continues to be the longest running public health and safety observance on record, according to the NFPA website.

There have been many important themes over the years, but "Protect Your Family From Fire" closely relates to the importance of home smoke detectors, fire escape plans and educating kids about fire safety. The NFPA website is full of activities for younger children, and schools usually discuss fire safety tips during this week and send information home for review. It is the perfect time to remind yourself and your family to:

• Change batteries out of electrician-installed smoke detectors and other life-safety wireless devices twice a year. A good habit is to change them out on Daylight Savings and the day Daylight Savings ends, which this year is on November 6.
• Check your smoke alarms once a month. Put your Atronic Alarms system on test first. (Read how.)
• Develop a family "fire escape plan" with a meeting place outside the home and have at least two escape routes. 
• "Drop and roll" if your clothes are on fire and crawl on the ground in heavy smoke. 
• Don't leave pots on the stove unattended. Cooking is the #1 cause of fire in homes. 
• Turn space heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed. Home heating methods is the #2 cause of fire in homes.
• Don't leave candles unattended and keep them one foot away from anything that can burn. 

If you currently have monitored Atronic Alarms, Inc. smoke and heat detectors, remember that they are "on" 24 hours-a-day, even when you disarm your security system. If you are interested in adding these devices to your current system, please contact the office at 913.362.0000 or visit Atronic Alarm's website for more information.