"Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned" — that's the message of Fire Prevention Week (FPW) 2009.
Testing the water before putting a child in the bath may sound like common sense. Wearing short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking on the stovetop may show foresight. This and other simple actions may be all it takes to prevent devastating burns.
Fire Prevention Week 2009 focuses on burn awareness and prevention, as well as keeping homes safe from the leading causes of home fires.
From October 4-10, fire and life safety educators across the country will bring important safety messages to their communities, showing them simple ways they can “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned.”
Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that 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 on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.
In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention
Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed
on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls. According
to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information
Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety
observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation
proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week 2009,
please visit the official NFPA website at www.firepreventionweek.org.
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