GOSHEN COUNTY – As area wildfires continue to burn through many parts of Wyoming and the surrounding states, the 2024 Fire Prevention Week (FPW) kicks off. 

The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) has sponsored the public observance of FPW since 1922. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed FPW a national observance in 1925, making the prevention week the longest-running public health observance in the county. 

“During FPW, 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,” the association explained. “FPW 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.”

Each year, the FPW features life-saving tips and instructions on fire prevention with a theme. This year’s campaign theme is ‘Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!’

 “This year’s campaign strives to educate everyone about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home,” the NFPA explained.

Fire and smoke alarms are things Torrington Volunteer Fire Department Chief, Luis Correa, knows well. Matter of fact, Correa has been working in the fire prevention and suppression industry for years now and he has some key smoke alarm guidelines and tips to keep the community safe. 

Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, like hallway, and on each level of the home, including the basement, the association explains. 

“I’ve seen multiple things about putting smoke alarms in every single room, however it is just not financially feasible for something like that,” Correa said. “I know some of the alarms I have put in my house were $30 a piece and I have a four-bedroom house. That’s a lot for the average person, essentially with a 10-year life span.”

The association also recommends replacing all smoke alarms when they are ten years old or when they stop responding when tested. 

“It’s typically ten years when we tell people to get rid of them, both smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms,” Correa explained. “I think that’s a pretty safe industry standard to get rid of them after ten years.”

The NFPA recommends testing existing smoke alarms once every month.

“They say testing once a month, if you can do that,” Correa explained. “I know the ones we buy for the fire department say that. That’s another thing, because of October being fire prevention week, the fire department tries to buy a certain number of smoke detectors and we will pass them out at the trunk or treat. The ones that we buy, the say once a month to do a testing.”

Fall is a good time to think about fire prevention. 

“Typically, what we tell folks to replace their batteries around Day Light Savings Time,” Correa explained. “It’s something that you think about so just go ahead a swap out your batteries.”

This year, Correa explained, although the FPW theme was on smoke alarms, the department changed their theme to save money. 

“I know we switched some things up and we did a different one,” Correa explained. “We had actually had some stuff back from 2020 that we had ordered it and then of course, Covid happened. It was on cooking.” 

Correa explained Eleno Oliva and Danny Watt had been visiting local schools with fire prevention tips this week. The week gives firefighters an opportunity to interact with children in the community on a more positive level before an emergency happens. 

“Typically, what we do is we will have a guy get in his bunker gear so the kids can see and feel what his stuff feels like, so they aren’t scared in a fire when we go in searching for them,” Correa said. 

Correa says his department is active with the youth in the community. 

“We try to be active with the kids. That is one of the goals I had in my administration is just a lot more public involvement. Of course, we have done fire prevention every year for the kidos,” Correa said. “When I say ‘we,’ I really need to give props to Eleno Oliva, our president. He’s really taken over in the fire prevention stuff.” 

Stay tune for more 2024 Fire Prevention Week coverage.