FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEWPORT NEWS FIRE DEPARTMENT URGES RESIDENTS TO “STAY FIRE SMART! DON'T GET BURNED.”

The Newport News Fire Department is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for Fire Prevention Week 2009- October 4-10 to urge Newport News residents to “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned.”  This year’s campaign focuses on ways to keep homes fire safe and prevent painful burns.  Additionally, fire safety educators will be teaching children how to plan and practice escape from a home fire in case a fire occurs.

The statistics are staggering. Each year roughly 3,000 people die as a result of home fires and burns, and more than 200,000 individuals are seen in the nation’s emergency rooms for burn injuries.

“The most common types of burn injuries are a result from fire or flame burns, scalds, and contact burns,” according to Public Education Coordinator, Lisa King.  When we take extra caution in our homes to ensure that the curling iron is out of a child’s reach or pot handles are turned away from the edge of the stove, such injuries are entirely preventable.  Keeping our homes safe from fire and preventing devastating burn injuries is a healthy change we can make happen.”

By following simple safety rules, you can “Stay Fire Smart!

• Keep hot foots and liquids away from tables and counter edges so they cannot be pulled or knocked over.
• Have a 3-foot "kid-free" zone around the stove.
• Never hold a child in your arms while preparing hot food or drinking a hot beverage.
• Be careful when using things that get hot such as curling irons, ovens, irons, lamps, heaters.
• Install tamper-resistant receptacles to prevent a child from sticking an object in the outlet.
• Never leave a child alone in a room with a lit candle, portable heater, lit fireplace or stove, or where a hot appliance might be in use.
• Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking.
• Set your hot water temperature no higher than 120 degrees.
• Install anti-scald valves on shower heads and faucets.

Additionally, Newport News Fire Department will be hosting a Fire Safety Open House on Saturday, October 10, 2009 from Noon-4:00pm at the Oyster Point Fire Station to celebrate Fire Prevention Week,  educate the community on fire safety, and also to provide career information for anyone interested in joining the NNFD.  This free event will have activities for the entire family.  Demonstrations from NNFD’s Specialty Teams include Hazardous Materials, Bomb Robot, Technical Rescue, and Marine Incident Response. Activities for the children include Sparky the Dog, home fire drill practice, Hazard House Demonstration and craft activity. 

For more information on fire prevention, visit www.firepreventionweek.org, or the Newport News Fire Department’s website at www.nngov.com/fire.

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