October Monthly Focus: National Fire Prevention Month + Week
National Fire Prevention Week
Each year during the week of October 9, we observe Fire Prevention Week, a campaign sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association that strives to educate the public about how to stay safe if a fire breaks out. This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme is “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety”, which emphasizes the importance of knowing the different sounds that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and what to do if they go off.
The Red Cross also encourages you to test your smoke alarms and practice your two-minute home fire escape drill. Knowing what to do makes a world of difference, so make sure that you and your family are well prepared! Although Fire Prevention Week is over, it is never too late to begin planning with your family members so that we can all be ready for fires year-round.
Home Fire Campaign
Because home fires make up the vast majority of the disasters that the Red Cross responds annually, the organization aims to reduce fire-related casualties in the US by 25%. To achieve this goal, the Red Cross launched the Home Fire Campaign back in 2014, which has since saved over 1,048 lives, installed over 2.2 million smoke alarms, made almost 1 million houses safer, and reached almost 1.7 million youth. Visit redcross.org/HomeFires to learn more about this initiative and how you can get involved with it.
Other Ways to Get Involved
In addition to engaging with Fire Safety Week and the Home Fire Campaign, there are other things you can do to practice and advocate for home fire safety:
- Lead a Virtual Fire Safety Canvassing event
- Take EDGE trainings
- SAF Innovation Exchange: Home Fire Campaign presentation (37 minutes)
- BIO05TC505 Fire Prevention Training (90 minutes)
More Resources to Check Out
