Annual Fire Prevention Week focuses on working smoke alarms Published Oct. 2, 2015 By Todd Evers Tinker Fire and Emergency Services TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Along with firefighters and safety advocates nationwide, Tinker Fire and Emergency Services is joining forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association during Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 4-10. The annual prevention week is held to remind local residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms. 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. "In a fire, seconds count," said Billy Newton, Tinker fire inspector. "Half of all 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." According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, three out of five fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. 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. · If the smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Go to your outside meeting place. · Call the fire department from outside the home. The members of Tinker Fire and Emergency Services will be hosting activities around the base during Fire Prevention Week to promote "Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!" Through these educational, family-oriented activities, residents can learn more about the importance of having a working smoke alarm in every bedroom. To learn more about smoke alarms and "Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!" visit NFPA's website at www.firepreventionweek.org and www.sparky.org/fpw. Fire Prevention Week schedule of events Oct. 5: 9:30 to 11 a.m. -- Tinker Elementary school demonstration 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Fire inspectors at Base Exchange to issue handouts Oct. 6: 9:30 to 11 a.m. -- Tinker Elementary school demonstration 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. -- Fire inspectors at Base Exchange to issue handouts 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. -- Child Development Center West presentation Oct. 7: 9 to 10 a.m. -- Child Development Center South presentation 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. -- Prevention trailer demonstration at Base Exchange 11 to 11:30 a.m. -- Fire inspectors at Base Exchange to issue handouts Oct. 8: 9 to 10 a.m. -- Child Development Center East presentation 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. -- Prevention trailer demonstration at Base Exchange 10 to 11 a.m. -- Rope rescue demonstration in Exchange parking lot 11:30 a.m. to noon -- Fire inspectors at Base Exchange to issue handouts 1 to 2 p.m. -- Rope rescue demonstration in Exchange parking lot 4 to 6 p.m. -- Cookout and rope rescue demonstration at Balfour Beatty Community Center Oct. 9: 8:30 to 10 a.m. -- Fire inspectors at Base Exchange to issue handouts There will be a pre-fire plan contest at Tinker Elementary for the fourth and fifth grade classes and a coloring contest for the Pre-K through third graders. The awards assembly for the contest will be held Oct. 23 at Tinker Elementary.