In Great Bend, Fire Prevention Week gets turned into Fire Prevention Month, and, while it can’t be proven, there are some who believe that a heritage of that extended effort has paid off in reduced incidence of home fires.
Our local firefighters don’t just take a stab at fire prevention during the first week of October.
That is the annual observation, by the way, in commemoration of two of the most fatal fires in the history of our nation.
It’s the week when firefighters all around the nation visit classrooms, pass out plastic fire helmets, give tours of fire stations.
But it doesn’t stop with that here.
All through the month, our firefighters are teaching local kids how to be safe, how to help their parents to be safe, how to use alarms to notify them of fires while they can still be fought.
This year, the theme is “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” and the alarms in question are vital to stopping home fires while the damage is lessened.
On the other hand, the students also bring home information that can keep fires from happening in the first place.
So, parents, listen to what the kids say when they come home.
And all of us, should take the time to thank our fire officials for working so hard to make this a safer community.
— Chuck Smith