Prevent Fires. Save Lives.
Doing a little can do a lot
Every 79 minutes, a fire affects someone’s life. With all the attention on large-scale disasters, 4 out 5 Americans don’t realize the most common disaster threat is not a hurricane or a flood—it’s a home fire.
With the cold weather upon us, people start using space heaters, fireplaces and other hazardous heat sources, resulting in an increased number of home fires this time of year.
Fires are just as devastating to a family as a hurricane is to a community. They cause physical damage, emotional suffering and even death. Fires are indiscriminate; they affect people of all ages, backgrounds and geographic locations.
Across the nation last year, the Red Cross provided immediate emergency assistance in the devastating aftermath of 67,000 home fires – 183 every day. “These statistics are staggering when you consider that unlike other disaster threats, fire is preventable. “ said Tom Foley, SEPA Chapter CEO. “The Red Cross is committed to helping people prevent home fires from happening in the first place.”
Please do not become one of our numbers. The best way to stop a fire is to never let one start. It only takes seconds for a fire to engulf an entire room, but in just a few minutes, you could make a home safety plan that would ensure that everyone gets out alive.
This October, Fire Prevention Month, your local Red Cross teamed up with community partners of all ages to spread the word about fire safety.
Local Red Cross disaster volunteers joined forces with Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), Norristown Weed & Seed, and Bucks & Delaware County Retired & Senior Volunteer groups to distribute 4,600 fire safety information packets door to door in high risk neighborhoods. “Even if this helps one family prevent a fire, it will be worth it,” said Bucks County DAT volunteer, Nancy Hansen.
Each morning throughout October, Franklin Learning Center’s Red Cross Club announced fire safety facts over the loudspeakers. During United Way of Chester County’s Day of Caring the West Chester University Circle K Club partnered with the Red Cross to raise awareness on fire safety through a community walkthrough in its neighborhood.
Sayre High School’s Red Cross Club sponsored a Safety Halloween Party for its Beacon Program’s kindergarten and 1st grade students - from safety games to trick or treat safety tips, these youth thought of everything, even paper smoke alarms with fire prevention facts.
Download a fire-safety brochure and learn more by visiting www.redcross-philly.org/fire2006.htm
