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City preps for Fire Prevention Week

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Also by Amelia Vorpahl:

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by Amelia Vorpahl

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

The Madison Fire Department kicked off its month-long extension of the National Fire Prevention Week Monday, which will host various events throughout October.

The events are an extension of the National Fire Protection Association's Fire Prevention Week, which will run from Oct. 7-13.

MFD Public Information Officer Lori Wirth said the fire department runs its program for an entire month in order to have the time to talk to all 32 elementary schools in Madison.

"We have a history with the school district," Wirth said. "We want this to be something across the board for every child."

When asked whether the program will be any different from other years, Wirth explained that while concepts of fire prevention don't change a lot, the people in Madison do.

However, Wirth also said there are several presentations that rotate every year, so children who have been through the program already will not see the same one twice.

This year's theme is "Practice Your Escape Plan" and will include a portable and interactive presentation put on by the fire department. The presentation will feature a Fire Safety Obstacle course, allowing children to practice safety procedures, such as choosing whether to escape through a window or a door and crawling low on the ground through smoke simulation.

Wirth said this type of interactive program is important because "in a real fire, it's often black, [and] you can't see where you're going."

Other activities throughout the month-long event include the Annual Fire Chief's Parade on State Street Oct. 7, and an open house at all Madison fire stations Oct. 13. The open house will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include a scavenger hunt with refreshments provided.

"Basically, it's an opportunity for children and families to look around and see the ways we can keep them safe," Wirth said. "They're looking through the stations at the different components of fire safety, like the fire alarm and extinguisher."

According the release, in 2006, more than 1.6 million fires were responded to by U.S. fire departments, resulting in more than 3,200 deaths and 16,000 injuries, along with more than $11 million in direct property loss. Fires in homes accounted for 80 percent of these deaths.

In Madison alone, there were 143 apartment fires last year, which caused three deaths, six injuries and $1.2 million in property damage.

"A lot of people talk about planning … but they never practice it to know if it works," Wirth said. "We see this a lot with adults when we go to office buildings for presentations and people don't participate. With our school presentations, we try to impress upon children and hopefully, by extension, their families the importance of fire safety."

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