This week, the Wellington Fire Department is participating in a nationwide effort to save lives and property from fires during National Fire Prevention Week.
Chief John Lloyd says firefighters from the city department are making their presence known around all the local elementary schools showing exactly what their job entails.
Each grade is focusing on a different route of fire prevention, from practicing how to stop, drop and roll to learning exactly why firefighters wear so much gear.
Tours are also set up through the month of October for daycares and preschools to come learn about fire prevention, Lloyd said.
Lloyd says it’s important for little ones to know exactly what to do in an emergency to save, not only their life, but those of family, friends and neighbors.
“Through 2008...3,320 civilians lost their lives as a result of fire last year so anything we can give to these kids early enough to make them survive something like this is important,” said Lloyd.
Over, 16,705 were also injured in 2008 from fires, he said.
“It is quite dangerous and people have a tendency to just push it off but it’s a real killer and it’s something we need to train people to learn how to deal with and how to survive if something happens,” said Lloyd.
Wellington has been lucky in regards to the statistics. There have been no fire deaths in the city since 2000, when Wellington lost four people.
“We feel that what we have been doing prevention-wise has been a factor there,” said Lloyd.
Fire prevention isn’t just for those still in school. The fire chief says the biggest causes of fire are caused by adults — smoking and cooking.
“Carelessly discarding smoking material is just tremendous, the amount of fires that starts, and unattended cooking. People will start cooking things and just go off and leave it and come back and it’s a blaze and there is nothing they can do,” said Lloyd.
With house fire season heating up as the weather cools down, Lloyd urges homeowners to take caution when escaping winter’s blasts.
“Heaters, malfunctions, people using alternatives to heaters that’s always been a big problem. They have to be careful along that line. Make sure your furnace is clear and serviced before starting, that the filters have been changed...if you have a fireplace, have a guard there and make sure the chimney is clean as well,” said Lloyd.
A fire last year was caused by too much newspaper being used in a fireplace.
“They aren’t designed for that. They burn extremely hot and extremely fast and it will set the chimney and all on fire,” said Lloyd. “There is always something along those lines. You need to use common sense and material for your fireplace or wood-burning stove,”
Lloyd urges anyone looking to improve their home through fire prevention to come down to the Wellington Fire Department to get more information.
The fire department also offers free smoke detector checks. To get your home detectors checked, call 620-326-7443.
Wellington, Kan. —
