Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.Some Facts provided by the NFPA:
- Cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and injuries.
- Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.
- Heating is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths and fire injuries.
- Electrical failures or malfunctions are factors in roughly 50,000 reported fires each year.
- Roughly 30, 000 intentionally set home structure fires are reported each year.
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Never is there a wrong time, but given this is National Fire Protection Week you should take the time to:
- Check the batteries in your smoke detectors (test them and replace non working detectors)
- Plan a family escape route (and where to meet once outside)
- Check fire extinguishers for expiration and have them re certified (Remember only try to put out small fires)
- Keep important documents and irreplaceable family memories (photos, etc) in a fireproof safe or near the evacuation route out of your house
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