The Fire Marshals Office and Fire Prevention

Last month we focused on preparation and preparedness for you and your family during natural disasters. September was National Preparedness Month. What did you do to prepare yourself and family?

This month we are going to focus on Fire Safety. In East Haven we have taken fire safety week and made it into fire safety week. We will discuss the department’s efforts at the end of the article but first let’s look at the history and how and when fire prevention week started.

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

Commemorating a conflagration
According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow - belonging to Mrs. Catherine O'Leary - kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire. Chances are you've heard some version of this story yourself; people have been blaming the Great Chicago Fire on the cow and Mrs. O'Leary, for more than 130 years. But recent research by Chicago historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk this version of events.

The 'Moo' myth
Like any good story, the 'case of the cow' has some truth to it. The great fire almost certainly started near the barn where Mrs. O'Leary kept her five milking cows. But there is no proof that O'Leary was in the barn when the fire broke out - or that a jumpy cow sparked the blaze. Mrs. O'Leary herself swore that she'd been in bed early that night, and that the cows were also tucked in for the evening.

But if a cow wasn't to blame for the huge fire, what was? Over the years, journalists and historians have offered plenty of theories. Some blamed the blaze on a couple of neighborhood boys who were near the barn sneaking cigarettes. Others believed that a neighbor of the O'Leary's may have started the fire. Some people have speculated that a fiery meteorite may have fallen to earth on October 8, starting several fires that day - in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Chicago.

The biggest blaze that week
While the Great Chicago Fire was the best-known blaze to start during this fiery two-day stretch, it wasn't the biggest. That distinction goes to the Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating forest fire in American history. The fire, which also occurred on October 8th, 1871, and roared through Northeast Wisconsin, burning down 16 towns, killing 1,152 people, and scorching 1.2 million acres before it ended.

Historical accounts of the fire say that the blaze began when several railroad workers clearing land for tracks unintentionally started a brush fire. Before long, the fast-moving flames were whipping through the area 'like a tornado,' some survivors said. It was the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin that suffered the worst damage. Within an hour, the entire town had been destroyed.

Eight decades of fire prevention
Those who survived the Chicago and Peshtigo fires never forgot what they'd been through; both blazes produced countless tales of bravery and heroism. But the fires also changed the way that firefighters and public officials thought about fire safety. On the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America (today known as the International Fire Marshals Association), decided that the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire should henceforth be observed not with festivities, but in a way that would keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention.  The commemoration grew incrementally official over the years.

In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925

Fire prevention in East Haven

The East Haven Fire Department places a focus on fire prevention efforts all year. However during the month of October the Fire Marshal’s office and members of the career department make a focused effort to deliver fire prevention safety messages to our youngest residents. Each year the Fire Marshal’s office and Firefighter’s visit every grammar school and pre-kindergarten classroom. In recent years the Marshal has delivered his message up to 2000 children.

The Fire Marshal delivers age appropriate messages supported by the ever popular Sparky the fire dog. Sparky has replaced Pluggy who is enjoying his retirement after many dedicated years educating the town’s children. Students are also given activity books that can be completed in the classroom and/or at home which supports the message delivered in the school. 

Fire prevention efforts continue all year long here in East Haven. In conjunction with the Chief’s office the Fire Marshal and Chief work together to offer smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to residents in need, when available.

During the year we also participate in Operation Save a Life which is sponsored by Kiddie, Home Depot and WTNH. We offer station tours to small groups and organizations, distribute fire prevention materials during the fall festival, participate in the fire prevention poster contest, and deliver educational seminars at senior housing complexes to name a few.

Additionally, the Fire Marshal’s office works diligently each and every day to inspect all commercial buildings, schools, places of assembly and multi-occupancy homes in accordance with the State Statutes.

As you can see the East Haven Fire Department focuses on prevention and education each and every month not just during fire prevention month.

reference; http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/fire-prevention-week/about-fire-prevention-week