Fire Prevention Week, Bristol Tennessee will close out with firefighters hosting an open house at the Central Fire Station from 10 am until 2 pm on Saturday, October 15th. Fire personnel will be providing safety tips related to this year’s national theme, Don’t Wait- Check the Date, throughout the week of October 9th thru 15th. “Time and again, I’ve seen the life-saving impact smoke alarms can have in a home fire, but I’ve also seen the tragedy that can result when smoke alarms aren’t working properly,” says Assistant Fire Chief Jack Spurgeon.
Smoke alarms are required to be replaced at least every 10 years, but because the public is generally unaware of this requirement, many homes have smoke alarms past their expiration date, putting people at increased risk. Bristol Fire Department personnel continuously talk to people about steps that can be taken to be fire-safe in their homes and the importance of working smoke alarms, but too often, that talk takes place after a damaging or a fatal fire.
During October’s open house, home safety literature will be distributed to visitors and firefighters will demonstrate equipment and present fire safety information. The department’s popular public education robot, “Patches and Pumper”, will be on hand to interact with visitors of all ages. Blaze the Fire Dog and the Fire Truck Slide will be at our open house. Also, Wellmont One air-transport unit will be on display and the crew will be available for demonstrations and questions from 10am until 12 noon. There will also be refreshments, as well as, fire helmets and badges for the kids.
Bristol firefighters will spend fire prevention week educating the public on the value and importance of preventing fires, in particular, cooking fires which are still the number one cause of residential fires, as well as, the importance and proper placement of smoke alarms. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with either no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that were not working.
The Central Fire Station is located at 211 Bluff City Highway and the department encourages the public to come by and meet their firefighters, view Wellmont One air-transport unit, enjoy the inflatable fire truck slide, play a game of corn-hole, and learn about fire safety.
For more information contact Jack Spurgeon via email at [email protected] or call 423-989-5701.
