MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Team MacDill hosted their annual Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 9-15 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, with the theme “Don’t Wait – Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, “In 2014, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 367,500 home structure fires. These fires caused 2,745 deaths, 11,825 civilian injuries, and $6.8 billion in direct damage.”
In order to combat statistics like those, the 6th Civil Engineer Squadron (CES) Fire Emergency Services hosted a series of events to inform, educate and create awareness.
Throughout the week, Sparky the fire dog, visited MacDill entry gates, Tinker K-8 School, Child Development Centers and base housing. During the visits, the MacDill Fire Emergency Services talked about topics ranging from how to use a fire extinguisher to the MacDill 911 system.
In addition, there was a fire detector inspection class, a Base Exchange display, battle of the badges softball game, a MacDill School-age Program visit, MacDill’s Inaugural Firefighter’s Challenge, visits to work centers and pancakes with Sparky.
“The goal this week was to raise fire safety awareness and the importance of inspecting your home smoke detector,” explained Master Sgt. Eriberto Ortega, the assistant chief for fire prevention with the 6th CES.
Moving forward, fire emergency services plans to continue educating and spreading fire prevention knowledge to prevent fires and create awareness.
“Overall, it has been a successful week,” said Ortega. “We were able to get out around the base and educate Team MacDill about fire prevention safety. We want to continue doing this every year to keep people aware of fire prevention methods.”