October 6-12 Fire Prevention Week

St Augustine Fire Marshal, Bob Growick, announced to Historic City News that this year’s Fire Prevention Week theme is “Prevent Kitchen Fires”. The 91-year-old Fire Prevention Week tradition is a way to alert the community to dangers that may exist in homes and business, and as a way to educate the public about preventing fires before they start.

Much of that education takes place in the community’s elementary schools, pre-schools and daycare centers; where fire personnel are greeted by an audience ready to listen and eager to learn.

“Taking the fire prevention message to young students is a very effective way to share that information with the entire community,” Growick told local news reporters. “The time a child spends working on his or her poster is time spent thinking about fire prevention in their own home, and I have no doubt that after a school visit, fire prevention is a topic at that night’s dinner table.”

The kitchen is the place in the home where Growick says families are most comfortable — yet it is the location of the start of 40% of home fires. Unattended cooking was the most frequent cause of kitchen fires, usually caused by the interruption of a phone call or person at the door. And, while clothing was the item first ignited in less than 1% of home cooking fires, those incidents accounted for 16% of the cooking fire deaths.

The St Augustine Fire Department also sponsors a fire prevention poster contest; with the winners selected by firefighters acting as the judging panel. The prize is the opportunity to have lunch with firefighters and a ride in a fire truck.

For more information and to find lots of Fire Prevention Week resources for teachers, community leaders, and families, VISIT THIS LINK.