Fire Prevention Week - October 9-15, 2022
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This week, Sunday, October 9 through Saturday, October 15 is National Fire Prevention Week with the theme being, "Fire won't wait. Plan your escape". The idea is to strengthen everyone's awareness in how everyone needs to be fire aware and prepared. At home to encourage folks to have a prepared escape plan and ensure everyone in the house is aware of said plan. Make sure renters and homeowners alike test their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms every month and replace them every 10 years. To ensure all appropriate building codes are satisfied and to have fire extinguishers easily accessible or sprinklers installed.
Residents of Blaine County are fully aware of the destruction wildfires can cause, especially after the recent fires including Mount Baldy and last year's 19,000 acre fire near Hays and Lodge Pole. Many local residents have themselves been the victims of house fires and have lost everything to them. Local Volunteer Fire Departments encourage everyone to be active in helping to lower fire potential. Any questions regarding fire prevention and fire safety will surely be answered by contacting your local Volunteer fire Department and ensuring that you are fully prepared.
Home fire prevention is extremely important, every structure has a different layout, entrances/exits vary. Having a practiced plan in place, especially in homes with young children is vital to protecting life in such a terrifying situation. Make sure you can meet the needs of the elderly and disabled as well to best provide them with protection as well. House fires can be incredibly fast and an entire home or dwelling can be engulfed in flames and filled with smoke in mere minutes. Go over your fire prevention and emergency escape plans often to ensure everyone in the household is kept up to date.
The idea for National Fire Prevention week dates back to 1922 when the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) decided to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Initially the idea began in 1911 on the fortieth anniversary of the Chicago fire with the Fire Marshals Association of North America (FMANA), the oldest membership section of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), sponsoring the first National Fire Prevention Day. The main idea of designating the day was to keep the public aware and informed of the importance of fire safety.
Fast forward to 1919 and the union being formed between the NFPA and the Dominion Fire Prevention Association (DFPA), coming together in Ottawa, Canada and passing a joint resolution to encourage the United States and Canadian governments to support the campaign for a common Fire Prevention Day. Three years later the idea was broadened to National Fire Prevention Week. From that time forward the NFPA has sponsored National Fire Prevention Week and selects the theme each year. It gained national certification in 1925 when President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week on October 4–10, 1925. Among President Coolages' statements was the fact nearly 15,000 lives were lost to fire in the United States the previous year. The Presidents proclamation stated, "This waste results from the conditions which justify a sense of shame and horror; for the greater part of it could and ought to be prevented... It is highly desirable that every effort be made to reform the conditions which have made possible so vast a destruction of the national wealth".
Blaine County has had its fair share of fire damage through years for sure. Being a very strong agricultural community means having large amounts a pasture and fields at the mercy of Mother Nature. Currently in an ongoing severe drought, the dry grass and high winds are always a concern when it comes to fire prevention. Everyone is encouraged to be extra careful when recreating or working outside, make sure all fires that are started, campfires, burn piles or whatever they may be are properly monitored and the effectively extinguished. The Burn Ban that had been in place throughout Blaine county was lifted on October 3.
