The Fire Department will hold a family-oriented open house featuring fun and educational activities at the downtown fire station next weekend as part of Fire Prevention Week.
The event is designed to promote "Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives!" and other safety topics on Saturday, Oct. 11 from 9:00 AM until Noon, at Fire Station #1 at 1016 13th St., just west of Commercial Ave.
The event will offer residents an opportunity to meet their fire department staff, and see some of the Department's facilities and equipment. Live fire and emergency medical demonstrations are planned to give visitors a glimpse into the job of a firefighter with the Anacortes Fire Department.
Working smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference in a fire. That's the message behind this year's Fire Prevention Week campaign, "Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Yours Every Month!"
Along with firefighters and safety advocates nationwide, Anacortes Fire Department is joining forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) during Fire Prevention Week, October 5-11, to remind local residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home and testing them monthly.
According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
"In a fire, seconds count," said Fire Chief Richard Curtis. "Roughly half of home fire deaths result from fires reported at night between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are asleep. Home smoke alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough time to get out."
This year's Fire Prevention Week campaign includes the following smoke alarm messages:
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
- Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. This way, when one sounds, they all do.
- Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
- Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they don't respond properly.
- Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.
The Anacortes Fire Department responds to nearly 2800 calls for help each year from three fire stations within the City of Anacortes. The Department provides fire protection within the city limits, as well as mutual aid response to outlying communities. Advanced Life Support emergency medical care and ambulance transport are provided throughout Fidalgo and Guemes Islands, with additional responses throughout Skagit County as a provider within the Skagit County Medic One system.