Fire Prevention Week begins tomorrow October 5, 2008 and will run thru October 11, 2008 in OFallon MO and St Charles County MO.  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.

We are moving into the time of year that more cooking is being done inside the home and less outside.  We are fortunate here that we have milder winters than a lot of places across the U.S. so we can still cook on our gas and charcoal grills.  Please leave your charcoal grills outside, do not bring them in the house.

The National Fire Protection Association offers the following tips for preventing home fires:

• Watch your cooking.  Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling or broiling food.  If you must leave, even for a short time, turn off the stove.
• Give space heaters space.  Keep fixed and portable space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn.  Turn off heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Smoke outside.  Ask smokers to smoke outside.  Have sturdy, deep ashtrays for smokers.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach.  Keep matches and lighters up high out of the reach of children, preferably in a cabinet with a child lock.
• Inspect electrical cords.  Replace cords that are cracked, damaged, have broken plugs or have loose connections.
• Be careful when using candles.  Keep candles at least one foot from anything that can burn.  Blow out candles when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Have a home fire escape plan.  Make a home fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year.
• Install smoke alarms.  Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.  Interconnect smoke alarms throughout the home.  When one sounds they all sound.
• Test smoke alarms.  Test smoke alarms at least once a month and replace batteries once a year or when the alarm "chirps" to tell you the battery is low.  Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old.
• Install sprinklers.  If you are building or remodeling your home, install residential fir sprinklers.  Sprinklers can contain and may even extinguish a fire in less time than it would take the fire department to arrive.

I am glad to say that the O'Fallon Fire Protection District has not had a death due to fire in 17 years.  Let's not spoil this record and be safe this Fall and Winter season.

If, you are looking for more information about Fire Prevention Week please visit www.firepreventionweek.org.