JBER Fire Safety Office hosts fire prevention week activities

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Javier Alvarez
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  In honor of Fire Prevention Week 2017, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Fire Emergency Services will be hosting fire-safety themed activities throughout October.

Fire Prevention Week is celebrated nationally from Oct. 8 to 14. Since JBER is home to five schools and five child development centers, event coordinators planned a month’s worth of activities in an effort to engage a greater portion of the base community.

“This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme, ‘Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!’ works to better educate the public about the critical importance of developing a home escape plan and practicing it,” said Adam Montoya, 673d Civil Engineer Squadron assistant chief of fire prevention.

In line with this year’s theme, fire safety representatives, and Aurora Military Housing will be conducting fire drills at two base housing locations on Oct. 15. 1607 Patriot Parkway Unit A, at the JBER-R side and 2172 Fairchild Ave. Unit E, at the JBER-E side.

Puppet shows, fire drills, poster contests and the fire safety trailer are among the activities planned for JBER schools and CDCs, from Oct. 2 to 13.

On Oct. 3 at 3 p.m., the Fire Safety 5K Fun Run will be hosted at Eagleglen Fitness Park.

An information booth will be set up at the Base Exchange on Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

People with JBER access are invited to the base library on Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. for an interactive puppet show.

“In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds,” Montoya said. “That’s why home escape planning is so critical in a fire situation. It ensures that everyone in the household knows how to use that small window of time wisely. Developing and practicing a home escape plan is like building muscle memory and pre-planning is what everyone will draw upon to snap into action and escape as quickly as possible in the event of a fire.”

JBER Fire Emergency Services encourage all households to develop a plan together and practice it, Montoya said. A home escape plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom, and near all sleeping areas. It also includes two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window, with a clear path to an outside meeting place (like a tree, light pole, or mailbox) that’s a safe distance from the home.

Fire safety representatives provided some additional tips for developing and practicing a home escape plan:

Draw a map of your home with all members of your household, marking two exits from each room and a path to the outside from each exit.

Practice your home fire drill twice a year. Conduct one at night and one during the day with everyone in your home, and practice using different ways out.

Teach children how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them.

Make sure the number of your home is clearly marked and easy for the fire department to find.

Close doors behind you as you leave — this may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.

Once you get outside, stay outside. Never go back inside a burning building.

For more information on fire safety week activities visit, www.facebook.com/JBERFirePrevention