The Board of Fire Commissioners of Lakewood Fire District No. 1, Fire Chief Jonathan Yahr, Fire Prevention Specialist Sima Clapman, and the members of the Lakewood Fire Department have announced events for a Fire Prevention Day, Sunday, October 13, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., in Red Square, at 3rd Street and Clifton Avenue in downtown Lakewood.
This event includes interactive Fire Service demonstrations, Apparatus demonstrations, and Gift Bags with Fire Safety information.
The Lakewood Fire Department encourages all residents to actively support the 2024 Fire Prevention Week theme, “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!” “Working smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference in a home fire, giving people the time to get out safely,” said Fire Prevention Specialist Sima Clapman. “This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign is a great way to remind everyone about these messages and to act on them.”
The Lakewood Fire Department offers these key smoke alarm safety tips and guidelines:
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area (like a hallway), and on each level (including the basement) of the home.
- Make sure smoke alarms meet the needs of all family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.
- Test smoke alarms at least once a month by pushing the test button.
- Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.
On the Great Chicago Fire’s 40th anniversary, the former Fire Marshals Association of North America (now the International Fire Marshals Association, or IFMA) sponsored the first National Fire Prevention Day, advocating an annual observance as a way to keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention. In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, National Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday-through-Saturday period in which October 9 falls. In addition, the President of the United States has signed a proclamation pronouncing a national observance during that week every year since 1925 making Fire Prevention Week the oldest safety commemoration.
Dedicated to raising public awareness about the dangers of fire and how to prevent it, the National Fire Prevention Association, or NFPA is the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week. According to NFPA, smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by more than half (54 percent). Meanwhile, roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
“Smoke alarms serve as the first line of defense in a home fire, but they need to be working in order to protect people,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of outreach and advocacy at NFPA. “This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign helps better educate the public about simple but critical steps they can take to make sure their homes have smoke alarms in all the needed locations and that they’re working properly.”