OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --
Team Osan’s 51st Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Emergency Services Flight held various events around base Oct. 8-14, as part of Fire Prevention Week to boost fire prevention awareness and enforce fire safety.
This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme was, “Every second counts: plan two ways out!”
“[Fire Prevention Week offers a] chance for us to bring the message directly to the public,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Hungpyo M. Rucci, 51st CES fire section chief. “Osan FES prepared all year for this event and interacting community in a non-emergency situation works great for us.”
Some of the events held this year were school/youth center visits with Sparky the firehouse dog, response demonstrations and a fire station open house.
“Open house is always the best,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Daniel Garcia, 51st CES fire inspector. “We get to open our doors and let the community come to us and see what we are all about. It gives us a chance to answer any and all question and curiosities the community we serve has [about fire safety].”
Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health observance and falls on the week of October 9th in commemoration of The Chicago and Peshtigo fires, both happening on October 9th 1871. The Chicago fire killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The Peshtigo Fire burned down 16 towns, killing 1,152 people and scorching 1.2 million acres before it ended.
“Through prevention and education, we strive to make safety conscious children and adults, so things like The Chicago Fire or Peshtigo Fire don't happen ever again,” said Garcia. “In the Air Force Fire Service, our most important job is to prevent fires from even happening in the first place, and we get to do that year-round through community education all over base, not just during Fire Prevention Week.”
For more information visit: http://www.firepreventionweek.org, or http://www.sparky.org.