Statistics from the National Fire Protection Association show that a person has a higher risk of dying today in a reported home fire than they did in decades past, and that hard truth is at the heart of the agency's Fire Prevention Week efforts this year.
Fire Prevention Week will take place October 7-13 and focuses on steadfast awareness with a simple phrase: "Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware — fire can happen anywhere."
The NFPA encourages citizens to focus on three simple yet essential calls to action to reduce the risk of fire and help them prepare in the event one occurs:
- Look for places fire can start
- Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm
- Learn two ways out of each room
"People take safety for granted and are not aware of the risk of fire," Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy, said in a release. "Paying attention to your surroundings, looking for available exits in the event of a fire or other emergency, and taking the smoke alarm seriously if it sounds can make a potentially life-saving difference in a fire or other emergency situation."
Although the message of Fire Prevention Week applies to all types of locations and structures, the NFPA sets its primary focus on home fire safety since four out of five fire deaths in the U.S. each year happen at home. Data shows that the fire death rate per 1,000 reported home fires was 10 percent higher in 2016 than in 1980.
"While we've made significant progress in preventing home fires from happening, these statistics show that there’s still much more work to do when it comes to teaching people how to protect themselves in the event of one, and why advance planning is so critically important," Carli said.
The NFPA has been sponsoring Fire Prevention Week for more than 90 years.
To learn more on Fire Prevention Week, visit http://www.fpw.org.
