National Fire Prevention Month
William F. Eaton, Fire Chief/Director, North Plainfield Fire Dept.
October is National Fire Prevention Month and the North Plainfield Fire Department actively participates in this nationwide initiative. We wanted to take this opportunity to remind the community of some important fire safety facts and tips provided by the NFPA. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a global self-funded nonprofit organization, established in 1896, devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards.
The most recent NFPA statistics show that in 2017 U.S. fire departments responded to 357,000 home structure fires. These fires caused 2,630 fire deaths and 10,600 fire injuries. On average, seven people died in a fire in a home per day during 2012 to 2016. Further statistics show that in a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Escape planning and practice can help you make the most of the time you have, giving everyone enough time to get out. This year’s campaign theme is, “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape!™”
This message applies to virtually any location. Situational awareness is a skill people need to use wherever they go, no matter where you are, look for available exits. If the alarm system sounds, take it seriously and exit the building immediately.
During this campaign, activities throughout the month include conducting fire prevention and education visits to our local schools, as well as hosting visits to the fire department. Both the school and firehouse visits allow us to have a unique one-on-one interaction with the children where we can better cover the topic of fire safety and explain the importance of this year’s theme.
October also kicks off our annual smoke detector replacement program. Traditionally this program has been for our senior citizens, but it is open to all residents who live within our great community. During this month and through November, we schedule visits to these homes to assist in checking and replacing smoke detectors. This program has been offered for decades at no cost to the homeowner and any North Plainfield family or resident in need of this type of assistance can contact fire headquarters to arrange for a visit by calling us at 908-769-2935.
