Off the Editor’s Desk 10-12-2022

This is Fire Prevent Week!

Make sure you have a smoke detector and they work.

This week marks the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention week and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has announced its theme for this year; “Fire won’t wait, Plan Your Escape”.

According to the NFPA, “This theme reinforces the critical importance of developing a home escape plan with all members of the household and practicing it regularly.

“Fire Prevention Week is celebrated during the week of October 9th in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The incident began the night of October 8th of that year in a barn owned by Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. Though historians are uncertain how the blaze actually began local legend says it was sparked when a cow kicked over a lantern. Regardless of the actual cause, the result was devastating damage.

“This horrific conflagration killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed over 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres of land.

“Ironically, the fire cleared the way for a newer, much improved Chicago. Ten years after the fire, the city population had nearly doubled. Twenty years later, the Windy City was the home to over one million people and featured the world’s first true skyscrapers. The site where the O’Leary barn once stood now hosts the training academy for the Chicago Fire Department.” –this information is from the NFPA.

I am assuming that almost everyone knows about the Chicago Fire, but on the same day was another fire that history has kind of forgotten and that fire occurred at Peshtigo, Wisconsin. In two hours, a large forest fire burned a path some 10 miles wide and 40 miles long consuming some 1.5 million acres of standing timber and the communities of Peshtigo and Brussels. The fire covered eight Wisconsin counties and killed as many as 2,400 people. (Estimates vary on that number)

“Anyone who’s worked in the fire service for any length of time knows the important role prevention plays in helping to avoid injury and death in the event of a fire. Here are a few handy facts to know about fires.

Every year, almost 4,000 people die and 2,000 are seriously injured in U. S. house fires.

Around 80 percent of all civilian fire deaths happen in the home.

Adults aged 65 and up are over twice as likely to die in fire than younger people.

Having functional smoke detectors more than doubles a person’s chance of surviving a house fire.

It takes just three and a half minutes for the heat from a house fire to top 1,100 F.

In a house fire, rooms that are not actively burning can still reach temperatures of 300 F that can result in fatalities.

Improperly extinguished cigarettes are the leading cause of fire deaths in America.”

Don’t forget your pet, and according to the NFPA, about 1,000 home fires are caused each year by pets, and about 40,000 of them die in house fires, so involve your pet in your escape plans.

Thanks for reading! Carlton