National Fire Prevention Week (NFPW) kicked off this year on Sunday, Oct. 8 and continued through Saturday, Oct. 14. NFPW offers up an opportunity for communities to get to know their fire departments and learn about fire safety.
NFPW occurs in October every year to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire on Oct. 8, 1871 to Oct. 9, 1871. In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day declaration.
Since 1922, National Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period on which Oct. 9 falls.
Every year the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) chooses a different fire-related theme to capitalize on. This year’s NFPW theme was “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!”
Their website provides a printable escape plan for kids, emphasizing that there should always be two identifiable ways to get out of the room you are in in the event of a fire.
Apprentice firefighter Robbie Mastnjak volunteers at the Good Will Fire Company, which is one of three fire companies that provide fire service to the West Chester community. These three local fire companies make up the West Chester Fire Department (WCFD).
Mastnjak says, “We go to schools and speak to the kids about fire safety, specifically what to do in the event of a fire. We also go to festivals as well where we get to talk to the kids and teach them about doing fire drills regularly at home.”
A common misconception about fire companies is that they only respond to fire-related emergencies. Good Will Fire Company “responds to an average of 400 alarms per year which represent various types of incidents including major building fires, auto accidents, fire alarms sounding in a building and any other type of call.”
Northampton Township Volunteer Fire Company (NTVFC), located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, hosts an open house every year in an effort to interact with the local community and teach them about fire safety.
Northampton Fire Company supports whatever the NFPA designates as the annual theme. They have been participating in fire prevention week and open houses for more than 50 years. Chief Adam Selisker says they have an open house event because the kids love coming to the firehouse. He says, “It also presents a good opportunity to learn good life practices while having fun.”
Selisker runs into people in the community who are now grown up, married and have kids of their own but still remember the day the firefighters came to their class or the day they got to go to the firehouse and use the hose. He emphasized that they appreciated and used the life lessons they learned during National Fire Prevention Week.
All three of NTVFC’s stations participate in these open houses. Kids are able to have hands-on experience with fire extinguishers. With the help of a firefighter, they can aim and spray their extinguisher at objects like an on-fire stove or a fire pit.
Kids are also given the opportunity to hold the fire hose and put out “fires” by directing hoses at a wooden backdrop that is painted white with flames. Tours of the fire trucks are given as well as rescue demonstrations and rides in the ladder truck basket.
West Chester University senior Jessica Molinari grew up in Bucks County where her local fire company first introduced her to fire safety. “When I was younger we had firefighters come to our school and teach us about stop, drop and roll as well as identifying a ‘safe spot’ we would go to if our house were to catch fire. We also talked about meeting points for where our family would gather after exiting the house.”
The NFPA reports that in “2016, there were 1,342,000 fires reported in the United States. These fires caused 3,390 civilian deaths, 14,650 civilian injuries, and $10.6 billion in property damage.” NFPW gives fire companies the platform to educate on the importance of understanding fire safety. Learning something new from an open house event or firefighter visit to a school could mean the difference between safety and catastrophe.
Hannah Tollen is a fourth-year student majoring in English writings track with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at HT823371@wcupa.edu.