Fire Prevention Safety

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About Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Month - October 2022

Since 1922, the National Fire Protection Association has sponsored the public observance of Fire Prevention Week. In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in our country. During Fire Prevention Week, children, adults, and teachers learn how to stay safe in case of a fire. Firefighters provide lifesaving public education in an effort to drastically decrease casualties caused by fires.

Fire Prevention Week is observed each year during the week of October 9th in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on October 8, 1871, and caused devastating damage. This horrific conflagration killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres of land.

Fire Prevention Week History
Be Prepared

Helpful Safety Tips

Fire escape planning and practicing

It is important for everyone to plan and practice a fire escape. Everyone needs to be prepared in advance, so that they know what to do when the fire alarm sounds. Given that every building is different, every building fire escape plan will also be different.

Have a plan for everyone in the building. Children, older adults, and people with disabilities may need assistance to get out.

Importance of Fire Prevention

In a fire, mere seconds can mean the difference between a safe escape and a tragedy. Fire safety education is for everyone, making it important for every member of the community to take some time every October during Fire Prevention Week to make sure they understand how to stay safe in case of a fire.

A few more tips, explained

  • Never remove batteries or disable the alarm.
  • Learn your building’s evacuation plan and practice all drills as if they were the real thing.
  • Talk with your roommates about meeting outside at the designated area in case of a fire.
  • If you live off campus, have a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room.
  • When the smoke alarm or fire alarm sounds, get out of the building quickly and stay out.
  • Stay in the kitchen when cooking.
  • Cook only when you are alert, not sleepy or drowsy from medicine or alcohol.
  • Check your school’s rules before using electrical appliances in your room.

(*Tips provided by the National Fire Protection Association. For more fire prevention tips, visit https://www.nfpa.org/overview, or https://www.aum.edu/about-aum/public-safety/emergency-preparedness/fire/)

Campus Fire Safety by the Numbers

According to the National Fire Protection Association

  • September and October were the peak months for fires in dormitory properties, and they are more common during the evening hours between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
  • Cooking equipment was involved in nearly nine out of ten reported fires in dormitory- type properties (87%).
  • Fires in dormitories are more common during the evening hours, between 5–11 pm, and on weekends.
  • Roughly six out of seven fires in dormitories are started by cooking.
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