Pelham Council passes Fire Prevention Week proclamation

Published 2:05 pm Thursday, October 10, 2019

By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Pelham City Council has proclaimed the week of Oct. 6 as Fire Prevention Week, and the city of Pelham is asking citizens to step up and do their part to prevent a tragedy from occurring as a result of a fire.

Pelham Mayor Gary Waters signed the proclamation at the latest Pelham City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 7, as fire prevention week lasts from Oct. 6-12.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, home fires killed 3,645 people in the United States in 2017, and fire departments in the United States responded to 352,000 home fires where the majority of U.S. fire deaths occur at home each year.

The theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week is “not every hero wears a cape. Plan and practice your escape” which aims to recognize people who motivate their households to develop and practice a fire escape plan.

Pelham Fire Marshal Justin Palmer attended the Oct. 7 Council Meeting and said the department has begun sharing fire safety tips with children as young as kindergarten.

“We’re in the schools this week and we’re teaching kindergarten through fifth grade at Pelham Oaks Elementary,” Palmer said. “We had 667 students come through today and learn a lot. Fire is not my fight, it’s not Chief Honeycutt’s fight, fire is everyone’s fight and we’ve got to do our part. If you know someone in Pelham who does not have a working smoke alarm in their house, or not sure if the batteries are working, they can call us and we will come out. I need the community to step up and do their part.”

Furthermore, the proclamation encourages Pelham residents to identify places in their home where a potential fire could start and install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home.