This year’s Open House at the Marion Fire Department on October 5 was inextinguishable fun for dozens of Tri-Town children and their families. Who doesn’t love a chance to high-five Sparky the Fire Dog, practice putting out a real fire with a fire extinguisher, or a ride in the bucket of the ladder truck lifting you 95 feet into the air?
“The turn out was fabulous,” said Firefighter/EMT Jodi Auld, event coordinator of the Open House. “It was a beautiful day.”
It is all about educating people on fire prevention and safety, says Auld, who was gearing up to visit Sippican School on October 7 for an all-school meeting focused on the importance of fire prevention and safety.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done this,” said Auld. “I think it’s really important for all the kids to have some fire prevention education.”
President Woodrow Wilson was the first president in 1920 to issue the very first Fire Prevention Day proclamation to commemorate the tragic Great Chicago Fire that killed 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed over 17,000 buildings, and scorched over 2,000 acres from October 8 to October 9 in 1871.
The observation of Fire Prevention Week the Sunday through Saturday in which October 9 falls has been a tradition since 1922, and it is still going strong 92 years later.
Marion Fire Chief Thomas Joyce stressed that checking your fire alarms regularly to be sure they are functioning is at the top of the list when it comes to fire safety.
Two weeks ago, said Joyce, the Fire Department was called to a Marion woman’s home for a house fire where the resident was lucky to have gotten out alive. The fire alarm did not go off when a fire ignited a piece of furniture downstairs from where the woman was sleeping. Joyce said, luckily, the fire caused the furniture to split, and the thump of a falling object awakened the woman who went downstairs to investigate the sound.
“I’m absolutely sure that woman would’ve died in her sleep, said Joyce, if not for the bump in the night that brought the woman out of her sleep and down the stairs.
“You have to check them,” emphasized Joyce. “The first thing I did when I got home that morning was check my own fire alarms to make sure they’re working.”
Another important thing to remember, urged Joyce, is to never be afraid to call 911.
“The minute you have a problem in your home, or you suspect that you do, get on the phone and call for help,” said Joyce, adding that there is no penalty for dispatching the Fire Department to your home for a situation that does not escalate out of control. “We never get mad at people.”
By Jean Perry
