Communications Office

Fire Prevention Week

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Norfolk Fire Division want to remind all citizens that the week of October 4th through the 10th is “FIRE PREVENTION WEEK”.  This week was chosen in remembrance of the 1871 “GREAT CHICAGO FIRE” that started on October 9th.  The Norfolk Fire Division wants to remind all citizens that fire prevention is not a one-week a year event, but is a 24 Hour-7 day a week-365 day-a-year event.  In America, one of the leading causes of fires is unattended cooking in the kitchen.  When you have something on the stove and you need to leave the room we recommend that you shut off the burner.  A person can easily get distracted and lose track of time and what was cooking becomes a fire on the stove, which can quickly spread to the rest of the kitchen. 

Smoking is another major cause of fires in the home, and results in many fire fatalities annually.   Disposing of your used smoking materials properly in water, wet sand or in an empty metal container is encouraged.  Reminder that if you have a planter that has potting soil in it for your plants to grow, that product is not dirt.  It contains combustible materials that can and will burn if you discard your smoking materials into that planter.

Unlike in years past, we will not be having our annual open house at the fire stations, due to safety concerns with Covid-19.  We do apologize for this but hope to see you all in the future once the virus is no longer a threat.  Remember to “Practice Fire Safety Every Day.”