Booth Sustains Faith People Do Care About Fire Safety
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Do people really care about fire safety?
The fire prevention bureau in Fort Wayne, Ind., set out to find the answer to that question. Judging by the interest shown in a booth dedicated to fire prevention that was displayed at the Home and Patio Show at the Fort Wayne Memorial Coliseum, the answer is reassuring.
The Home and Patio Show is an annual event in Fort Wayne that takes place for about five days in late February. This year it was attended by 7500 people.
The show affords local merchants the opportunity to display and demonstrate their products. It was under the direction of Fire Marshal Robert McMahon that the fire prevention bureau decided to use this opportunity to sell fire safety.
Booth invites lookers
A 10 X 20-foot booth was alternately staffed by four public education division personnel. It was designed to allow people to walk through the display. The tables were stocked with printed literature, safety booklets and safety equipment. The literature varied from home escape planning to installation and care of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. The safety equipment included fire-escape ladders and ropes. Also included were smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, heat alarms, fire extinguishers, safety kits and fire blankets. A new type smoke alarm that was displayed attracted much interest.
Tom Ebbing, fire prevention bureau platoon captain, altered a smoke alarm so that it would not only sound an alarm if a fire occurred, but it also would give off a beam of light. This new design is especially important in offering additional warning for those with impaired hearing.
Fireground radio recordings
Other crowd-pleasers were various recordings of fire dispatch and fireground radio traffic that were played every 10 minutes. These recordings proved to be a good public relations and public information tool that generated many questions as to procedures.
The children were given “Freddie the Firefighter” 16-page fire safety pamphlets. Freddie, locally owned by GilWood Productions, Inc., is a familiar character to Fort Wayne children. Freddie is used countywide in conjunction with elementary school fire safety programs.
Innovative public fire education programs are necessary. Fire prevention is an old topic that needs a new look to catch the public’s eye. We in Fort Wayne feel the necessity to take advantage of all available opportunities to spread our message of fire safety and prevention.
