LAKE COUNTY ? This week is Fire Prevention Awareness Week, a national designation since 1925. The National Fire Protection District (NFPD) along with local fire departments and other safety advocates nationwide are urging people to “Stay Fire Smart! Don”t Get Burned.”
“Early activation for fire and emergency is the key to survival,” Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta said.
According to the NFPD, fire departments responded to an estimated 1.5 million fires in 2008. These fires resulted in 3,320 civilian fire fatalities; 16,705 civilian fire injuries and an estimated $15.5 billion in direct property loss.
“Every 22 seconds a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the United States,” Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of communications said. “Fires kill roughly 3,000 people each year and injure thousands.”
Presentations in recognition of the national designation are scheduled by a few local fire districts. Sapeta said LCFPD will be sharing safety tips with school children in addition to a public presentation that will take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Clearlake Walmart store. Saturday”s presentation is an annual event that includes the participation of several Lake County fire protection providers. The event will include equipment displays as well informational handouts for family safety and prevention. Lakeport Fire Protection District also has several student presentations scheduled throughout the month.
“We will be focusing on smoke alarms, the importance of pre-cleaning chimneys and fire places, defensible space, accident prevention, disaster preparedness and carbon monoxide poisoning,” Sapeta said. “People who have a wood burning stove or a fireplace should have a carbon monoxide detector. They carry them at hardware and retail stores. The big thing is checking the battery to make sure they are working properly.”
Sapeta said LCFPD will also stress the importance of having a family evacuation plan. “People need to make sure they have their family evacuation plan in place. They should definitely be practicing it with their children and their neighbors. They could even make it a block party,” he said.
Sapeta said neighborhoods interested in developing an area plan will receive the support of the fire department. “When a neighborhood gets together to prepare for fire or other disaster, it results in count-ability of family members, moral support for the family involved and it builds a relationship between the fire department and the community and increases overall community awareness,” Sapeta said. “We”d be willing to go out and facilitate a meeting if a neighborhood wanted that.”
Sapeta said the primary problem the LCFPD has in responding to local emergencies is inadequate displays of address. “The number one thing that we sometimes have problems with is proper numbering and numeration of area residences so we can see the address from the road,” he said.
Sapeta said overall disaster preparedness is important as well. He said people should have enough food and water for three days, medications and a count-ability system for family members. These and other safety tips are available on the American Red Cross Web site at www.redcross.org and on the Governor”s Office of Go Serve at www.goserve.gov.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
