Parade punctuates Fire Prevention Week

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  • By Merrie Schilter-Lowe

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--A parade though base housing and an open house at Fire Station No. 2 are the main attractions culminating National Fire Prevention Week activities at Travis Air Force Base, California Oct. 9 to 15.

The annual parade brings together the base community and first responders, including medical, security, and explosive ordnance disposal personnel, said John Speakman, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron fire emergency services chief. 

“We spare no time or energy to host events that are worth people's time and to build community relationships,” he said.

The parade kicks off at the youth center Saturday at 9 a.m. with Col. Lance Clark, 60th Mission Support Group commander, serving as grand marshal. The parade will wind through the Onizuka Flats neighborhood, cross into March Landing and continue on to the Moffett neighborhood. The parade then crosses in to the McClellan neighborhood, travels to the Castle Terrace area and then into the Norton Heights area. 

The parade will end around 10 a.m. at the fire station, building 175 across from the base library, where mascots “Smokey the Bear” and “Sparky” the fire dog will greet visitors. Free hot dogs and soft drinks will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“The open house will give the community a chance to step into the fire station to see how firefighters live 24/7 and have a better understanding of the many missions FES delivers to the base as well as off base,” said Speakman.   

Firefighters also will have an opportunity at the open house to teach youngsters important life-saving skills “such as stop, drop, and roll,” as well as how to safely exit a smoke-filled environment in the fire safety trailer.

The Band of the Golden West acoustic section will perform from 10 a.m. to noon and a repelling demonstration begins at 10:45 a.m. Fire equipment and other statics will be on display throughout the event, said TSgt. Antione Johnson, 60th CES noncomissioned officer in charge of fire prevention.

Other activities during the week included posting FES members at the gates Tuesday during rush hour to remind motorists about fire prevention; conducting fire drills at the youth center, child developments centers and dormitories; and briefing on-base elementary school students about fire safety and the history of the national observance. 

“We also sponsored a poster contest at the schools. Members of the Travis Key Spouse Club will select the winners at each grade level,” said Johnson. The winning first- through third-place entries will be on display during the open house, he said.

In keeping with the national theme, “Don’t wait – check the date,” FES personnel manned booths at the base exchange and commissary to remind customers not only to check their home smoke detectors, but also to replace them every 10 years. 

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, smoke detectors attract dust and insects making them unreliable.  Also, units that are hardwired to the home should be replaced sooner if they continue to “chirp” with new batteries or if the alarm doesn’t sound when tested. 

The NFPA estimates that nearly two-thirds of the people who die in home fires each year didn’t have working smoke detectors.

 Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which burned from Sunday, Oct. 8 to Tuesday, Oct 10. The fire killed more than 250 people and left another 100,000 homeless. It also destroyed more than $200 million in property, according to the NFPA. 

Ironically, a forest fire in Peshtigo, Northern Wisconsin also occurred Oct. 8, 1871, causing even more devastation.  According to the NFPA, it was the worst fire in U.S. history, destroying more than a 1.2 million acres of property and killing between 1,200 and 2,500 people in 16 towns. The actual number of deaths remains unknown since the fire destroyed most of the official records.  The fire reportedly began while workers were clearing land for railroad tracks.      

Not only did the Chicago and Peshtigo fires change people’s lives, they changed the way firefighters and the public thought about fire safety, according to the NFPA. The agency sponsored the first fire prevention day in 1911 to remind the public to prevent fires.   

President Woodrow Wilson made the observance a national day in 1920 and President Calvin Coolidge signed a proclamation in 1925 making the campaign a weeklong observance.

In his 2013 Presidential Proclamation, President Obama wrote that fires take more American lives than all other natural disasters combined, inflicting devastating tolls on families and communities and costing the nation billions of dollars each year.

“By preventing fires, we can both protect our loved ones and keep America’s firefighters out of unnecessary danger.” The proclamation also praised first responders as “skilled professionals” who put themselves in harm’s way “to save people they have never met.”

While people at Travis are doing a good job preventing most types of fire, there’s room for improvement when it comes to wildfires, said Speakman.        

“California is in an extreme drought situation. Under no conditions should cigarettes ever be thrown from a car window. Lit cigarettes are a fire hazard and unlit ones are litter.”

Two wildland fires near the VQ-3 Navy detachment last year were caused by tossed smoking materials.  The fires burned more than 145 acres, according to Johnson. For information about fire prevention, call (707) 424-4431.