NRNW Recognizes National Fire Prevention Week

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Wyatt Anthony | 181011-N-VH385-0049 SILVERDALE, Wash. (Oct. 11, 2018) - Mary Dideneditto, a caregiver at the Navy Region Northwest (NRNW) Child Development Home Program, plays a game with children in front of a NRNW Fire and Emergency Services fire engine during an active display event for National Fire Prevention Week onboard Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. A full week of activities are scheduled Oct. 9-12 to help service members, their families and base personnel learn how to reduce the likelihood of fires and teach them how to escape in the event of one. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Wyatt L. Anthony/Released)  

SILVERDALE, WA, UNITED STATES

10.10.2018

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Wyatt Anthony  

Navy Public Affairs Support Element, Det. Northwest

SILVERDALE, Wash. (Oct. 11, 2018) – The Navy Region Northwest Fire and Emergency Services (NRNW FES) team kicked off National Fire Prevention Week (FPW), Oct. 10. FPW is an annual event observed nationally across the U.S. and Canada as well as worldwide onboard U.S. military bases.

FPW is observed each year during the week of Oct. 9 in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire which began on Oct. 8, 1871. Once the fire was contained and the aftermath assessed, the blaze had killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres of land. In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in our country.

In acknowledgment of FPW, NRNW FES has multiple events planned throughout the region including events at Naval Base Kitsap (NBK)-Bangor and Bremerton Naval Hospital to include the set up of static displays with fire helmets, activity pamphlets and crayons for children, and active displays as well as their fire engine.

“Our mission here is to educate the Naval and local community about being fire safe and ensuring that they are being protected in their homes and doing the right things,” said NRNW Fire Inspector Rashaun Harris.

The NRNW FES personnel brought a fire engine with all of their equipment, ensembles and hoses set up in front of the Navy Exchange onboard NBK-Bangor, to show and educate Sailors, their families, and civilians on the base.

“I loved everything about the event today,” Mary Dideneditto, a caregiver at the Navy Region Northwest (NRNW) Child Development Home Program, who was there with a group of children in her care. “All of the firefighters were so nice and ensured that all of the kids got to see everything. The kids especially loved sitting in the driver’s seat of the fire engine.”

This year's campaign theme is "Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.” The purpose of the theme is to teach people to look for places a fire could start. Attendees were told to take a good look around your home in order to identify potential fire hazards and take care of them. NRNW FES personnel expressed the importance of listening for the sound of the smoke alarm since there are only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. They also stressed the importance of having an outside meeting place which should be a safe distance from the building or home and where everyone should know to meet. Lastly, always learn two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.

For more information about Fire Prevention Week please visit the National Fire Protection Association webpage at: http://www.nfpa.org/public-education/campaigns/fire-prevention-week-2.

• Date Taken: 10.10.2018
• Date Posted: 10.11.2018 22:38
• Story ID: 296071
• Location: SILVERDALE, WA, US