Fire Education

The National Fire Prevention Association has marked Oct. 7 to 13 as Fire Prevention Week.

The NFPA has made this year’s theme “Have 2 Ways Out!” stressing the importance of working smoke detectors and having an emergency plan B.

Fire Prevention Week was established by the NFPA to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire that started on Oct. 8, 1871. As stated on the NFPA website, “the fire killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres.”
The tragedy changed the way firefighters and public officials thought about fire safety. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation. Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record.
Lynne Pretli, the public education officer of Windsor Fire and Rescue, said that public education is a mandate.
“The municipality has to supply public education to the citizens,” said Pretli. “It’s important for us to keep the children safe.”
The Children’s Safety Village of Windsor and Essex County helps make this possible. According to their Facebook page, “Our mission is to nurture safety and to eliminate preventable injuries and fatalities through education during children’s formative years in a creative, fun and interactive environment. Our curriculum is developed to support and work in conjunction with the Ontario School Curriculum.”

“We send home information sheets about fire safety for the children to read over with their families,” said Brenda Deschamps, a Grade 2 teacher at St. John’s Catholic Elementary School. “I also take my class to the safety village.”

Stephania Onorato, a teaching assistant at St. John’s, has gone on a few of the trips to the Safety Village. “The Safety Village is fun and educational because it’s interactive,” said Onorato. “The smoke simulator used in the demonstrations helps get the feel of how to react during a smoke or fire emergency. The kids learn what to do in case of a fire and they get to take home a fire plan.”

Fire Prevention Week runs Oct. 7 to 13 with kickoff events at Devonshire Mall beginning at 10 a.m.