Fire Prevention Week 2008 Resources from the Alfred Station Volunteer Fire Company ~ Alfred Station, New York

Fire Prevention Week is observed every October. Originally proclaimed as Fire Prevention Day in 1920 by President Woodrow Wilson, it commemorated the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 (http://www.chicagohistory.org/fire/intro/gcf-index.html). This tragic conflagration* killed some 300 people, left 100,000 homeless and destroyed more than 17,000 structures.

In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge expanded the event to a whole week declaring, “the week that contains October 9 will henceforth be called Fire Prevention Week as a reminder of the importance of fire safety.”

On the 40th anniversary of the great Chicago fire the Fire Marshals Association of North America (FMANA), the oldest membership section of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), decided that the anniversary of Fire should be observed not with festivities, but in a more solemn and purposeful manner that would serve to remind the American people of the value and importance of fire prevention.

The members of the Alfred Station Volunteer Fire Company believe that "Fire Prevention Is Our Strongest Fire Fighting Tool". For this reason we built this page as an educational resource for fire prevention and safety in your homes.

*Conflagration: a very intense and uncontrolled fire

Fire Prevention Week 2008

"Prevent Home Fires!"

Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as two minutes to escape safely once the alarm sounds. Your ability to get out depends on advance warning from smoke alarms, and advance planning — a home fire escape plan that everyone in your family is familiar with and has practiced.

Fast facts you should know about home escape planning and practice:

According to a 2004 NFPA survey (PDF, 760 KB), only one in four Americans has devised and practiced a plan to escape from the home during a fire.

While 66% of Americans have an escape plan in case of a fire, only 35% of those with a plan have practiced it.
Three-quarters of Americans believe they have 10 minutes or less until a fire turns deadly, the time available is often less.
Only 8% of people said their first thought on hearing a smoke alarm would be to get out!
Eighteen to 24-year-olds are the least likely to have even developed an escape plan.

Fire deaths in 2006

In 2006, U.S. fire departments responded to 400,000 home fires. These fires caused 2,580 civilian deaths, 12,500 civilian injuries and $6.8 billion in direct damage.

On average, every three hours someone in the U.S. dies in a home fire. In Canada, someone is fatally injured in a residential fire roughly every 32 hours.
Most fatal fires kill one or two people. In 2005, 13 home fires killed five or more people. These 13 fires resulted in 80 deaths.
Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home fire injuries.
More than half of all home fire deaths result from incidents reported between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. But only twenty percent of home fires occur between those hours.
Although children five and under make up about 7% of the country's population, they accounted for 12% of the home fire deaths, assigning them a risk almost twice that of an average person.
Older adults are also at greater risk of dying in a home fire than the population at large. Adults 65 and older face a risk twice the average person, while people 85 and older have a risk that is a little over four times that of the average person.
December and January were the peak months for reported home fires and home fire deaths.
Home fires, fire deaths and fire injuries are more common on Saturday and Sunday.

This year’s National Fire Prevention Week theme is “Practice Your Escape Plan.” No one expects to encounter fire, but it is always possible. To ensure that people escape from a fire they should have a plan and practice it.

The more practice, the better.

Don't be a statistic!

"Practice Your Escape Plan!"

Click the following link to download our Free Home Fire Escape Plan and Diagram

We Care About You

We’re Your Neighbors

We Live Together

We Need To Work Together

To Prevent Fires In Our Community

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