REMINDER: Observe Fire Prevention Week Oct. 7-13 with Escambia County Fire Rescue

Escambia County Fire Rescue encourages residents to join in observing National Fire Prevention Week Oct. 7-13, which presents several calls to action to help the public reduce their risk of home fires and keep their families safe. 

The National Fire Protection Association has sponsored Fire Prevention Week since 1922, celebrated each year during the week of Oct. 9. This year's theme is "Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware – fire can happen anywhere." 

Through three simple calls to action, the theme identifies basic but essential ways people can reduce their risk to fire and be prepared in the event of a fire:

• Look for places fire can start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.
• Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.
• Learn two ways out of each room. Make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.

The latest statistics from NFPA show that if you have a fire in your home, you are more likely to die today than you were a few decades ago. Although fires can happen anywhere, NFPA continues to focus on home fire safety since the majority of fire deaths (4 out of 5) in the United States occur at home. In fact, the fire death rate (per 1,000 home fires reported to the fire department) was 10 percent higher in 2016 than in 1980.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week and get tips on how to prevent and prepare for home fires, visit firepreventionweek.org.

Escambia County Fire Rescue is available to provide and install smoke detectors free of charge for residents. According to NFPA, a working smoke detector cuts the chances of dying in a reported fire in half. For information about obtaining a home smoke detector, call 850-595-HERO (4376) or request a smoke detector online through the Ask MyEscambia app. City of Pensacola residents may call 850-436-5200 for smoke detector installation assistance.