Page 10 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior Sept. 2015

10 High Desert Warrior www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin
September 4, 2015

Your Installation

Fire PreventionWeek: check smoke alarms

Provided by Tina Rhodes but did most of its damage on October 9, 1871. historians have offered plenty of theories. Some Wisc., that suffered the worst damage. Within
According to popular legend, the fire broke blamed the blaze on a couple of neighborhood an hour, the entire town had been destroyed.
Fort Irwin Fire Prevention Bureau boys were near the barn sneaking cigarettes.
out after a cow – belonging to Catherine Others believed that a neighbor of O’Leary On the 40th anniversary of the Great
During fire prevention week, Oct. 4-10, O’Leary –kicked over a lamp, setting first the may have started the fire. Some people have Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of
the Fort Irwin Fire Prevention Bureau will be barn, then the whole city on fire. Chances are speculated that a fiery meteorite may have North America (today, the International Fire
sharing important safety tips with Fort Irwin you’ve heard some version of this story yourself; fallen to earth on October 8, starting several Marshals Association), decided the anniversary
and surrounding communities regarding fire people have been blaming the Great Chicago fires that day – in Michigan and Wisconsin, as of the Great Chicago Fire should be observed
awareness, fire prevention, as well as home fire Fire on the cow and O’Leary, for more than well as in Chicago. not with festivities, but in a way that informs
safety – home fires being the leading cause of 130 years. But recent research by Chicago the public about fire prevention.
loss of life and property. This year’s theme is historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk While the Great Chicago Fire was the best-
“Hear The Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bed- this version of events. known blaze to start during this fiery two-day In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson is-
room Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!” stretch, it wasn’t the biggest. That distinction sued the first National Fire Prevention Day
Like any good story, the ‘case of the cow’ has goes to the Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention
The Web site of the National Fire Pro- some truth to it. The great fire almost certainly forest fire in American history. The fire, which Week has been observed on the Sunday through
tection Association provides the following started near the barn where O’Leary kept her also occurred on October 8, 1871, and roared Saturday period in which October 9 falls. Ac-
information: five milking cows. But there is no proof that through Northeast Wisconsin, burned down cording to the National Archives and Records
O’Leary was in the barn when the fire broke 16 towns, killing 1,152 people, and scorching Administration’s Library Information Center,
Fire Prevention Week was established to out – or that a jumpy cow sparked the blaze. 1.2 million acres before it ended. Fire Prevention Week is the longest running
commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the O’Leary herself swore that she went to bed early public health and safety observance on record.
tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than that night, and that the cows were also tucked Historical accounts of the fire say that the The President of the United States has signed
250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed in for the evening. blaze began when several railroad workers a proclamation proclaiming a national obser-
more than 17,400 structures and burned more clearing land for tracks unintentionally started vance during that week every year since 1925.
than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, But if a cow wasn’t to blame for the huge a brush fire. It was the small town of Peshtigo,
fire, what was? Over the years, journalists and

Fire Prevention Week Smoke Alarms

Oct. 7 at Home
1-4 p.m.
Fort Irwin Fire Station 1 SMOKE ALARMS ARE A KEY PART
400 Langford Lake Road of a home fire escape plan. When there is
a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke
Come on down and join Sparky and Firwin Blaze alarms give you early warning so you can
for some educational fun, games and prizes to in- get outside quickly.
clude: egg toss contest, Fire Safety House, puppet
show, station tours, face painting, fire truck tours, SAFETY TIPS FACTS
bounce house, turnout relay race, exit drill/EDITH, ... Install smoke alarms inside and outside each
fire bucket brigade (parents vs. fire personnel), and U! Smoke alarms should
much more. bedroom and sleeping area. Install alarms on every be installed inside every
level of the home. Install alarms in the basement. bedroom, outside each
Enjoy a barbecue – with all proceeds going to the sleeping area and on every
Angel Tree holiday program. ... Large homes may need extra smoke alarms. level. Smoke alarms should
be connected so when one
All minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. ... It is best to use interconnected smoke alarms. sounds, they all sound. Most
When one smoke alarm sounds they all sound. homes do not have this level
For more information go to www.irwin.army.mil of protection.
... Test all smoke alarms at least once a month. Press
the test button to be sure the alarm is working. U! Roughly 3 out of 5 fire deaths
happen in homes with no
... There are two kinds of alarms. Ionization smoke smoke alarms or the alarms
alarms are quicker to warn about flaming fires. are not working.
Photoelectric alarms are quicker to warn about
smoldering fires. It is best to use both types of Fort Irwin Fire Prevention
alarms in the home. 380-6845

... A smoke alarm should be on the ceiling or high on
a wall. Keep smoke alarms away from the kitchen to
reduce false alarms. They should be at least 10 feet
(3 meters) from the stove.

... People who are hard-of-hearing or deaf can use
special alarms. These alarms have strobe lights and
bed shakers.

... Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years
old.

Your Source for SAFETY Information

NFPA Public Education Division U 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02169