Fire prevention week teaches important skills

Published Oct. 15, 2018
By Airman 1st Class Michael X. Beyer
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Firefighters from the 355th Civil Engineer Squadron taught members of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base community essential skills that could prove invaluable in the event of a home fire, as part of National Fire Prevention Week, from October 8-12 2018 at D-M AFB.

This year’s fire prevention campaign was “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” which hopes to educate the public on basic skills that can be employed to escape a fire.

“Working in the fire service for many years, we know that people often make choices in fire situations that jeopardize them, their safety or even cost them their lives,” said Raymond LeClair, 355th CES assistant chief for fire prevention. “We need to do a better job of teaching people about potentially life-saving escape planning, and helping them practice can motivate them to take action.”

While everyone can learn from Fire Prevention Week, many of the teaching are aimed at children, so they can develop lifelong skills to benefit them in case of a fire.

“The most important thing is teaching them what to do when a fire occurs; get out, call 911 and to know at least two ways out,” said Airman 1st Class Jordan Speakman, 355th CES firefighter.

Although people feel safest at home, it is also where they are at greatest risk to fire, with four out of five U.S. fire deaths occurring there.

To combat this perception of safety, Fire Prevention Week hopes to challenge peoples’ existing escape plans and help them to develop new ones.