Fire Department Open Houses this weekend for Fire Prevention Week
Several Fire Departments around Dayton are holding open houses this weekend in honor of the 2019 Fire Prevention Week. #FirePreventionWeek
Fire Department Open Houses this weekend for Fire Prevention Week
"Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape!" is the theme for the 2019 Fire Prevention Week, a gentle reminder that lives can be saved when family members agree on and practice a plan for escape during fires. In a typical home fire, there may be as little as one to two minutes available to escape safely, once a smoke alarm sounds.
In honor of National Fire Prevention Week, fire departments around the Dayton area are joining the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to celebrate with a series of family-friendly open houses this weekend and into next week. Participating fire departments include:
- Beavercreek Township Fire Department will host their annual "Try a truck" event on Saturday, October 5 from 10am to 1pm.
- Dayton Fire Department is hosting a community open house at Station 8 on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 1pm to 5pm.
- Lebanon Fire Department will be open on Saturday, October 5, from 11am to 2pm
- Bethel Township Fire Department in Tipp City will be open on Sunday, October 6, from 2pm to 4pm.
- Clearcreek Fire District in Springboro will host their open house on Sunday, October 6, from 1pm to 4pm.
- Huber Heights Fire Division will be open on Sunday, October 6, from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.
- Vandalia Division of Fire will host their open house on Sunday, October 6, from 12pm to 2pm.
- Washington Township Fire Department will present open houses at five separate stations from Monday, October 7 through Friday, October 11.
NFPA statistics show that in 2017 U.S. fire departments responded to 357,000 home structure fires. These fires caused 2,630 deaths and 10,600 injuries. On average, seven Americans died daily in home fires from 2012 to 2016.
“People tend to underestimate their risk to fire, particularly at home. That over-confidence lends itself to a complacency toward home escape planning and practice,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of Outreach and Advocacy at NFPA. “But in a fire situation, we’ve seen time and again that advance planning can make a potentially life-saving difference.”
A home escape plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom, and near all sleeping areas. It also includes two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window, with a clear path to an outside meeting place (like a tree, light pole or mailbox) that’s a safe distance from the home. Home escape plans should be practiced twice a year by all members of the household.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week and “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape!”, visit fpw.org.
