ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Monday, October 10 began Fire Prevention Week and the Rock Island Fire Dept. gave tips to help residents stay safe as colder weather approaches and heaters turn on.
On Tuesday, October 11, RIFD's Central Station gave a tour of the facility to kids from a local daycare. Firemen and paramedics walked them around the building, and kids asked questions about their jobs. Children were also able to sit inside a fire truck.
RIFD Paramedic Anthony Schooley described how, ultimately, the event is designed to give kids a better understanding of fire safety.
"If we can do things here at home in our community to actually show, you know, the do's and don'ts of fire prevention, you know, different things about fire behavior as far as the dangers involved in it," Schooley said.
The dangers of fires are especially an issue at this time of year, as statistics from the American Red Cross state that house fires increase in the fall and winter, with a peak in the months of December and January.
"As the weather gets colder and people start to gravitate inside, that's when we start to see more house fires," RIFD Fire Marshal Greg Marty said.
This year's focus is to make sure families have a plan for escape.
"When a fire happens, do not wait," Marty said. "We want you to get out of your house, have a common meeting place that everybody in the family knows to meet. And then the most important thing is to not go back in no matter what once you get out, don't go back and call 911."
The Fire Department is making sure to educate and take action now so that families feel safer if the worst were to strike. To better respond to the threat of a fire, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services launched a program in 2019 offering free smoke detector installations to any family in Illinois.
Anyone is eligible for a free smoke alarm installation by calling your city's fire department.
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