Marine Corps Base Hawaii -- The infamous Great Chicago Fire on Oct. 8, 1871, spurred the creation of Fire Prevention Week to commemorate the tragedy, which killed more than 250 people and burned more than 2,000 acres.
Although the Chicago fire is the most well known, it’s not the most devastating. The Peshtigo Fire in Northeast Wisconsin killed 1,152 people, burned 1.2 million acres and occurred on the same day and year as the Chicago Fire.
The Federal Fire Department partnered with the National Fire Protection Association for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, Sunday to Saturday. The Federal Fire Department will host activities on bases around the island from Monday to Thursday.
Angela Sanders, the fire inspector for the Federal Fire Department and public information officer, said every year the NFPA develops themes for fire safety, and this year’s theme is “Preventing Kitchen Fires.”
“This year’s campaign will focus on preventing kitchen fires because cooking is the leading cause of home fires,” said Sanders, a native of Aiea, Hawaii. “Cooking is also the leading cause of fire-related injuries. We want to highlight how unattended cooking can lead to disaster.”
Sanders explained that if you leave even for a few minutes while cooking, turn off the stove. She also added that children and pets should be a minimum of three feet away from hot stoves.
Other important fire safety tips to remember are wear clothing with tight fitting sleeves while cooking and keep potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, towels and other flammable objects away from the stovetop.
“We want to minimize the occurrences of fires on bases,” Sanders said. “Therefore minimizing the statistics and saving lives.”
The Federal Fire Department will demonstrate how to properly extinguish a fire, especially grease and kitchen fires, at the Mokapu Mall. They will be at Mokapu Mall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 9, 2013.
“There will be a guest appearance and Sparky the Fire Dog will attend,” Sanders said. “Attendees can use a laser fire trainer, which simulates using an extinguisher to put out a fire. It teaches people the proper way to fight fire.”
Daily fire station tours at Marine Corps Base Hawaii Fire Station 8 are scheduled Oct. 7 through 11 from 9 to 11 a.m. These tours will provide information to visitors on fire safety and children will be allowed on the fire trucks. Firefighters will also be in attendance with their gear and equipment to take pictures with attendees.
Ryan Yoshimoto, the battalion chief of The Federal Fire Department, said there have been only two fires on base since the beginning of this year, but one is too many.
“I think a good reminder while cooking is to leave your oven mitt on,” Yoshimoto said. “It’s a simple way to remind yourself that you have something on the stove, since small distractions give enough time for a pot of oil to ignite.”
If you are interested in learning more about fire prevention, visit the NFPA website at http://www.FPW.org or the U.S. Fire Administration website at http://www.usfa.fema.gov.