Fire Prevention Week includes apparatus display Friday, October 2 at Washington County Fair Park | By Kenny Asselin

Washington Co., WI – The Washington County Fire Chiefs Association will be hosting it annual Fire Prevention Week kickoff event at the Washington County Fair Park on Friday, October 2, 2020, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The drive through event will feature apparatus from Washington County fire departments, as well as fire prevention materials. The materials will be distributed to visitors in their vehicles as they drive through to see the apparatus and personnel.

Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week is observed each year during the week of October 9 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.

The theme for this year is: “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), based on 2013 through 2017 annual averages:

 Cooking equipment is the leading cause of home fires and fire injuries, causing 49% of home fires that resulted in 21% of the home fire deaths and 45% of the injuries.

 Unattended equipment is a factor in one-third (31%) of reported home cooking fires and half (48%) of the associated deaths. Two-thirds (66%) of home cooking fires start with the ignition of food or other cooking materials.

 Ranges or cooktops account for almost two-thirds (62%) of home cooking fire incidents.

 Frying dominates the cooking fire problem.

 Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

Cooking safety tips:

 Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop.
 Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling, or broiling food.
 If you are simmering, baking, or roasting food, check it regularly, remain in the kitchen while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
 Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your stovetop.

Even though Fire Prevention Week is only one week per year, fire prevention should be in our minds 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, all year round.