National Fire Prevention Week 2000 - Alaska Promotes Preparedness
Release Date: October 3, 2000
Release Number: R10-00-86
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Next week (October 8-14) is National Fire Prevention Week, and the United States Fire Administration (USFA), a directorate of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is asking all Americans to mark this week by planning and practicing "Great Escape" home fire drills. According to FEMA Acting Regional Director Tammy Doherty, too few people develop and practice home fire escape plans, and this lack of planning can prove deadly.
"Time and again, the lesson driven home from devastating disaster is that there is no substitute for pre-disaster mitigation and pre-disaster planning," said Doherty. "Observances like National Fire Prevention Week allow all of us to take a 'time out' from our daily preoccupations to focus on those critical actions necessary to save our loved ones from injury and death."
Alaska Division of Emergency Services Director David Liebersbach couldn't agree more. "Our message to Alaskans year-round, is to install smoke detectors on every floor, establish defensible perimeters around their homes, and develop home escape plans," said Liebersbach. "National Fire Prevention Week is a good time to check and replace those smoke alarm batteries, and practice and revise those home fire drills!"
Contact your local fire department to learn more about making your home safer from fire.
Last Modified: Monday, 17-Nov-2003 13:40:12