Photo By Joseph Schmitt | Sarah Christiansen and a Commander Navy Region Japan Regional Fire Department Yokosuka...... read more read more
YOKOSUKA, Japan - Commander Navy Region Japan Regional Fire Department Yokosuka firefighters and staff opened the fire station to the public to increase awareness of National Fire Week, Oct. 6. The open house included activities and demonstrations to help the public learn how to prevent fires and what to do in case a fire does start.
“Our main goal is to get information out to the public,” said Mike Dionne, Commander Navy Region Japan Fire and Emergency Services Supervisory Fire Protection Inspector. “It's fire prevention week and every year we have a theme for the week.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) comes out with the theme for the week every year. This year's theme is preventing kitchen fires.”
According to the NFPA's website, nfpa.org, the leading cause of kitchen fires is unattended cooking. The site tells people to stay in view of what's being cooked and if you have to leave to turn off the oven, stove, grill, etc.
“It takes just seconds for a situation to get out of control,” said Dionne. “If you are not there to respond, a fire can cause serious damage very quickly. So, stay in the kitchen when you're cooking and that's a big first step to keeping things from getting out of hand.”
The open house event at the fire station had displays and activities to help visitors learn about fire safety. There was a rappelling demonstration by members of the fire department. The firefighters and staff set up some the displays to specifically educate children.
“We want to make sure that the kids are learning just as much as the adults,” said Dionne. “Sometimes a child might be the first person to find a fire or they might need to get out of a house that is on fire. If we can get them to learn these lessons when they are young, they will take it with them when they grow up.”
Popular displays for the children were a fire extinguisher display, in which participants had to put out a simulated fire, and a tunnel where they learned to stop, drop, and roll to put out a clothing fire and to stay low when exiting a building fire.
“They [my kids] are having fun and learning and hopefully that helps them remember what to do in case of a fire,” said Lt. Cmdr. Bryan Christiansen, who attended the event with his wife and kids.
The following week, fire department personnel visited the schools on base to run fire drills. This year they included a smoke machine to bring a level of realism to the evacuations. Fire trucks responded and sprayed water on the building.
| Date Taken: | 10.06.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2013 03:02 |
| Story ID: | 116099 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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