High-Risk Families Focus of Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week 2011 runs Oct. 9-15, and the goal of this year’s theme, “It’s Fire Prevention Week. Protect your Family from Fire!” is to protect all families, but especially those at the highest risk.

This topic was requested by the fire service, says Judy Comoletti of the National Fire Protection Association’s Public Education division. As a result, this year’s online resources include materials for reaching out to populations that are at high risk to fire. These include non-English speakers, older adults, immigrants and those with intellectual disabilities.

“That’s a new section and I think it will be great for people to access,” Comoletti said.

Visit firepreventionweek.org to view the NFPA’s resource areas for the fire service, teachers (including fire service educators) and families.

“The Fire Service section has everything a fire department would need for a campaign,” Comoletti said, including video public service announcements featuring Sparky the Fire Dog.

If any departments are getting started late for fire prevention week, Comoletti notes there’s no reason they can’t push the theme throughout the month of October.

She also recommends that educators sign up for NFPA’s Safety Source newsletter and remember to direct kids to Sparky’s website.

Kick-Off

The NFPA officially kicked off this year’s fire prevention week with the Detroit Fire Department and Domino’s Pizza.

NFPA and Domino’s have been partnering for four years. Participating stores will deliver fire safety messages on pizza boxes, and select deliveries will be handled by local firefighters. The firefighters then test the home’s smoke alarms, and if they don’t work, they install new ones or new batteries. If they are working, the pizza is free.

“Each year the number of fire departments involved has increased,” Comoletti said, and this year, participants in Canada jumped onboard.

The first delivery, along with additional fire prevention week activities, took place in Detroit on Thursday.

“It has become a terrific partnership because it allows us a fun way to deliver fire safety messages right into people’s homes,” said NFPA’s Lorraine Carli.

NFPA has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week since 1922, and reports that it’s the longest running public health and safety observance on record. Visit www.firepreventionweek.org for more information.