As part of its annual effort to increase public awareness and encourage a proactive approach to fire safety, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to promote Fire Prevention Week 2012, taking place October 7-13, 2012.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)’s theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, “Have Two Ways Out!,” highlights the importance of fire escape planning and practice. ESFI’s Fire Prevention Week campaign materials complement NFPA’s theme by offering a variety of resources that can be used to help prevent home electrical fires before they start.
A leading cause of home fires each year, electrical failures or malfunctions were factors in an estimated 46,500 home fires in 2010 according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). These fires resulted in 420 deaths, 1,520 injuries, and $1.5 billion in property damage. Taking proactive measures to eliminate electrical hazards in the home can prevent residential electrical fires like these.
“Establishing good electrical safety habits while learning to identify and correct electrical fire hazards will greatly reduce the risks for home electrical fires,” said ESFI President, Brett Brenner. “We applaud NFPA for creating a national platform to educate the public about the importance of fire and electrical safety, and we hope that Fire Prevention Week lessons are put into practice year round.”
The ESFI Fire Prevention Week 2012 Toolkit provides resources to help families learn to prevent electrical fires while also becoming better prepared in case a fire occurs. The toolkit features the Electrical Fire Safety Checklist, which can be used to help identify and correct home electrical fire hazards. Also included is a graphic tip sheet that illustrates how to test arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs), a critical and often overlooked safety precaution that should be performed monthly, and an illustrated smoke alarm safety tip sheet.
Additional ESFI fire safety resources also support NFPA’s message of “Have 2 Ways Out.” The Virtual Fire Drill is an interactive simulation that allows families to put their fire safety knowledge to the test while “escaping” from a virtual home fire. P.I. Plug’s Smoke Alarm Safety Video teaches children about the importance of smoke alarms as well as simple fire safety skills.
ESFI’s Fire Prevention Week materials can be downloaded at no cost from www.electrical-safety.org. For more information about Fire Prevention Week, visit the NFPA website at www.firepreventionweek.org.
