Fire Prevention News: Weekly Digest – May 15, 2012

Links to Fire Prevention-related news articles – Updated 05/14/2012

Campaigns/ Other Fire Prevention Activities

1. Preventing youth fire setting – The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) urges residents to educate themselves on the devastating effects of arson and to engage in simple activities aimed at preventing arson incidents at the outset of National Arson Awareness Week which started Sunday.
2. Child-set fires ignite outreach from Valley fire officials – Tempe has seen a rise in juvenile arsons, but officials say most are of the mattress-in-the-alley variety, while Chandler, which has a robust fire-prevention program, recorded a sharp decline in arson-caused fires across the board in 2011 and no .
3. Galesburg Fire Department raises public awareness about new program – The US Fire Administration and the Galesburg Fire Department will raise public awareness regarding the Juvenile Firesetter Program during Arson Awareness Week, which runs from ..
4. Carolina Beach Fire Department Teaches Elementary School Students Fire Safety
5. Franklin County adopts new fire safety program – Franklin County will participate in a new program to help the community be prepared in the event of a major wildfire. The Community Wildfire Protection Plan effort was established through the federal Healthy Forests Restoration Act of …
6. Firefighters install smoke detectors – Since November, they have installed 559 smoke alarms. There are 220 yet to be installed. The alarms were purchased through a grant from Oklahoma State University fire service publications and the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s office.
7. AFD checking Dove Springs for detectors – The Austin Fire Department on Friday was checking for smoke detectors in the neighborhood where a man died earlier this week. Gary Charles Johnson, 51, was found dead early Wednesday after a fire started in a car inside the garage at ..
8. County Fire Smart Education Day Tomorrow – Pretty timely considering we can all use a refresher about fire safety and understanding wildfire risk. The County of Grande Prairie has put together a ton of information and demonstrations for the public — it’s the Fire Smart Education …
9. Nashoba Tech duo rewarded in fire-safety video competition – Two Nashoba Valley Technical High School students recently earned an honorable mention in a fire-safety video contest. The YouTube Burn Awareness Video Contest tasked Massachusetts high-school students with producing a video between one and …
10. Chelsea Senior Living Center Receives Fire Drill Education Lesson – The Silverton Fire Co # 1 and The Chelsea Assistant Living Facility held a fire drill safety seminar last Thursday, May 3, 2012, to see how they would work together in handling such an emergency at the facility, including on the Alzheimer’s care floor.

Campus fire safety

1. Nothing to report

Inspections / Code enforcement

1. SD to revive state fire marshal board – The state Department of Public Safety plans to revive the fire marshal’s advisory board to strengthen relationships with fire departments and fire fighters across South Dakota
2. Derby fire marshal lives by code – Part of his job is to make sure the state fire code is followed, and he hopes publicly raising the issue will lead to greater awareness. “The fire code is a life-safety protection. It buys occupants time to exit the building,” Hawks said.
3. City officials stress importance of building safety – Every day, City employees ensure places where residents live, work and play are all in accordance to building and fire codes . That’s why they, along with several other area agencies, are trying to inform the public on what to do when repairing a home.

Smoke Alarms

1. Conn. legislature passes smoke detector bill
2. Stamford to pursue smoke detector law
3. Firefighters install smoke detectors – Since November, they have installed 559 smoke alarms. There are 220 yet to be installed. The alarms were purchased through a grant from Oklahoma State University fire service publications and the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’s office.
4. AFD checking Dove Springs for detectors – The Austin Fire Department on Friday was checking for smoke detectors in the neighborhood where a man died earlier this week. Gary Charles Johnson, 51, was found dead early Wednesday after a fire started in a car inside the garage at ..

Sprinklers

1. Support Residential Fire Sprinkler System – Opponents to residential fire sprinklers cite the excessive cost of installation. Yet research by the NFPA states the cost to install fire sprinklers in a new home is $1.61 per – square – foot, less than the cost to install up-graded kitchen cabinets.

Wildland Fire Safety

1. Preparing for Fire Season Starts Now – Fire officials hired 14 additional inspectors to help residents comply with county ordinances for fire prevention . “Our last major fire siege we’ve had in San Diego was in 2007 and much of that vegetation has returned,” said Capt.
2. Franklin County adopts new fire safety program – Franklin County will participate in a new program to help the community be prepared in the event of a major wildfire. The Community Wildfire Protection Plan effort was established through the federal Healthy Forests Restoration Act of …
3. County Fire Smart Education Day Tomorrow – Pretty timely considering we can all use a refresher about fire safety and understanding wildfire risk. The County of Grande Prairie has put together a ton of information and demonstrations for the public — it’s the Fire Smart Education …
4. Preparing power lines for fire season – Each line is a potential fire hazard . PG&E crews invited CBS47 on a flyover of high voltage power lines across the valley and into remote foothills of the Sierra…areas difficult for ground crews to access. Inspectors hovered 200 feet overhead, …
5. How Fire Chiefs Can Prepare for Wildfire Season – Without the relationships we have with organizations such as the Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, the National Association of State Foresters, the NFPA and its Firewise Communities program, and the Western Governors Association, …
6. County’s Firewise program dying out – The Firewise program uses the federal money to pay salaries of county staff who advise rural homeowners on how to protect their homes from wildfires, and it also pays some of the cost of cutting away dangerous undergrowth, replacing fire-prone wood …

Safety tips and reminders

1. Special Report: Home Fire Safety – We brought in the experts – and their home fire safety checklist – to the McKay home . Little Rock Fire Department Captain Dennis McCann spotted a problem immediately. “I see you’re boiling these eggs,” he told McKay.
2. Smoke Detectors Save Lives | Since the beginning of this year, Middlesex County has mourned the fire-related deaths of 11 County residents.
3. Officials warn kids: Be wary of fire – The Office of the State Attorney, the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office, and Mid-State Fire and Safety . Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jeff Atwater believes its important to raise awareness on preventing youth fire setting ..
4. Public Safety Watch: Fire safety for parents and caregivers – Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Jim Walker said in a news release there were more than 500 fires reportedly set by children in 2010-11. The majority of those fires were set by children between 10 and 15 years old. “Most people don’t realize the serious
5. Pillow Fire A Wakeup Call – Connecticut fire code requires all residential properties to have a smoke detector in each sleeping area; one outside of sleeping areas and one on each level, including the basement. While I have smoke detectors in several locations in my home, …
6. In light of rash of fires, fire chief reminds residents of safety tips – In the last three months, the Oak Ridge Fire Department has been very busy responding to multiple residential fires. This recent string of fires has prompted the Fire Department …

Other Safety News

1. Children Remember How to Escape Fire in Apartment Building – The State Fire Marshal says when firefighters arrived at the building, they watched several children leaving a neighboring apartment by crawling outside on their hands and knees. “This is a perfect example of why teaching the phrase ‘stay low and go’ …
2. Sunnybrook launches study into health care costs of house fires – The study is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, the Fire Marshal’s public fire safety council, the Ontario Municipal Fire Prevention Officers Association, Co-operators insurance company and the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler …
3. Circuit Breaker Hazards – Now a story you’ll see on just one station: Experts say it’s a flat out fire hazard if it’s in your home. And Hank’s uncovered its caused a series of fires in Massachusetts and across the country. What is it? What should you do if you have one?
4. Fire Safety: No Mystery – National Fire Protection Association He is a reasonable person and a successful businessman, but he argued that there was really no need for a fire department in his town because they had so few fires . It is hard for me to keep cool when I hear people say things like that, especially when ..
5. Arson Awareness Week is May 6-12 Governor Martin O’Malley, along with the Office of the State Fire Marshal and the US Fire Administration (USFA), have teamed up this year to promote arson
6. Preventing youth fire setting – The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) urges residents to educate themselves on the devastating effects of arson and to engage in simple activities aimed at preventing arson incidents at the outset of National Arson Awareness Week which started Sunday.

Smoke Alarm Saves

1. Woman, son escape early morning fire in Cloquet Duluth, Minnesota
2. Smoke alarm credited with saving OP man from fire – Kansas City

Sprinkler Saves

1. Fire at Michigan Senior Apartments Prompts Evacuation Authorities say a kitchen fireat a senior citizen apartment building in suburban .. Thefire prompted sprinklers to go off in part of the building.
2. Popular restaurant in Troy damaged by fire Investigators are on the scene of fire that … Five sprinklers activated and contained the fire to that corner of the building.
3. Sprinkler system saves building from fire – A sprinkler system at Minute Man Anchors in Hendersonville suppressed a fire that started with a flatbed truck parked inside the building Wednesday night, according to fire officials. Firefighters and rescue personnel responded to the alarm located at ..
4. Fire evacuates senior housing complex in downtown Salt Lake City The fire was limited to his apartment. “The fire was … contained by the apartment’s sprinkler system until our firefighters arrived on scene and …

Fire Prevention News: International

1. Smoke alarm awareness for hard of hearing – As part of National Deaf Awareness Week (May 7-13) West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service is reminding residents of the importance of fitting and testing appropriate smoke alarms. A range of alarms have been designed specifically for the hard of hearing.
2. Fire service demonstrates value of sprinklers UK
3. Sunnybrook launches study into health care costs of house fires – The study is sponsored by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, the Fire Marshal’s public fire safety council, the Ontario Municipal Fire Prevention Officers Association, Co-operators insurance company and the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler …