Fire prevention month spawns awareness, events

With October being Fire Prevention Month, the Scott Township Fire Department in conjunction with the Fort Scott City Fire Department is conducting fire awareness event.

Beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, in the Tractor Supply parking lot, 2400 S. Main, the two fire departments will kick off Fire Prevention Month with a showcase of fire department and EMS training operations. The day will include demonstrations on tanker operations and extraction tools, and discussions with emergency personnel, who will speak with attendees about fire prevention. In addition, area residents can witness fire fighter training up-close as fire fighters will be undergoing training during the event using the burn trailer from the University of Kansas.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, www.nfpa.org, in the year 2007 public fire departments across the United States responded to 1,557,500 fires, which were the cause of 3,430 deaths, 17,675 injuries and $14.6 billion in property damage.

This year's fire prevention theme is "It's Fire Prevention Week: Prevent Home Fires," according to NFPA. In 2007, fire fighters responded to about 399,000 home fires, making it essential to educate the general public about the most common reasons a home catches on fire.

"Your home should be a safe haven," NFPA said. "But do you regularly check for home fire hazards? If not, there is the potential for danger... From October 5-11, 2008, fire safety advocates will spread the word to their communities that, with a little extra caution, preventing the leading causes of home fires -- cooking, heating, electrical and smoking-materials -- is within their power."

The NFPA said the home fires resulted in 13,600 injuries, 2,865 deaths and $7.4 billion in direct damage. NFPA added 84 percent of all civilian fire-related deaths occurred because of home fires. The kitchen, which is the starting point for about 40 percent of home fires is the most popular place for a home fire to begin, NFPA said. These fires are often related to cooking. Four percent of home fires begin in the living room, and eight percent originate in the bedroom. Even though the majority of home fires start in the kitchen, NFPA said smoking is the major cause of death due to a home fire.

Fires in homes which are not equipped with working smoke alarms, take more lives than those who have the proper equipment, NFPA said.

"Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of reported home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms," NFPA said.

Saturday's local fire department event will offer area residents an opportunity to receive fire safety information, potentially keeping residents from becoming a statistic in one of the aforementioned areas. It will also be a good time for anyone who may be interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter or entering into a fire fighting career to find out what steps need to be taken to attain his or her dream. For more information contact Scott Township Fire Chief Jackie Messer at (620) 224-7809.