Preventing Fires

October 8, 2008

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Wednesday, October 8th. This is National Fire Prevention Week — a time to look around your house with the idea of keeping the risk of fire to a minimum. It’s also a good time to check the batteries of your smoke detectors. Two of the worst fires in U.S. history broke out on this date in 1871. One was the famous fire in Chicago. Up to 300 people died in that blaze, which left almost 100,000 people homeless. A second fire on that day was much worse but has faded into history. It destroyed the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and burned across six counties, killing as many as 2,400 people. Each year in the U.S., some 3,700 people die in fires around the country and nearly 18,000 others are injured. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 499,503
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 346, 347
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html