Fire Department Offers Demonstrations, Classes, and more During Fire Prevention Week

By Hacienda Network Staff Writer

The Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department is hosting a number of events during Fire Prevention Week, being held this year from October 9-15. The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Week is "Use Candles with Care," an important instruction to remember when home candle fires caused 18,000 blazes and over $265 million in damage in 2001 alone. In addition to open houses and Community Emergency Response Team training, the fire department is sponsoring its first ever Fire Safety Day, where citizens will be able to see demonstrations and receive instruction on a number of fire safety activities.

Fire Safety Day, which will be held from 1:00-3:00 pm at the Fire Training Center at 3301 Busch Road, promises to be an interesting and educational event for the whole family. "We'll have different training stations and we'll have firefighters at each station giving instructions on how to do each of these safety measures," says Tessa Burns of the LPFD. "One station will show how to operate a fire extinguisher, another will focus on how to conduct light search and rescue operations, and we'll have another station dedicated to basic first aid tips and another on how, when, and why you turn off your utilities."

There will also be a special fire safety trailer for children. "Kids can learn how to crawl low under smoke in a special room with simulated smoke," says Burns. "They can also learn what firefighters' gear looks like, because when they have all their gear on and it's dark and smoky, they can look to a small child almost like a monster."

For those who are interested in taking the next step in their fire safety expertise, a special series of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) classes will be offered beginning Tuesday, October 11 from 6:00-9:00 pm and continuing on Tuesday nights through November 15. "These classes prepare you to help your family and your neighborhood in the event of an emergency or disaster," says Burns. "The training includes disaster first aid, disaster preparedness, basic fire fighting, light search and rescue, utility control and damage assessment." Additional information on these classes is available at (925) 454-2375.

Every fire station in Livermore and Pleasanton will also be holding an open house on Wednesday, October 12 from 6:00-8:00 pm. Visitors are welcome to stop by any local fire station for a tour and to pick up a free reflective Halloween trick-or-treat bag.

For more information on using candles with care or on Fire Prevention Week, access the National Fire Protection Association's web site at www.nfpa.org. For additional information on local Fire Prevention Week activities, call (925) 454-2362.

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