Worst Fire in American History Basis for Fire Prevention Week

Drawing from Peshtigo Fire courtesy of the Wisconsin Electronic Reader.

Two fires started on the same date: October 8, 1871. The best-known of two fires is the Chicago Fire, which killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned 2,000 acres. 

That was nothing compared to the Peshtigo Fire—by far the most devastating fire in American history. That fire roared through northeast Wisconsin burning 16 towns, killing 1,152 people, and burning 1.2 million acres.
 
Fire Prevention Week was created on the 40^th anniversary of these fires, not to celebrate, but to keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention.
 

Half of Home Fire Deaths Occur While People Sleep

Only one in five home fires are between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., yet half of home fire deaths occur during this time when most people are asleep. Thus the theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week, October 4-10, 2015, is “Hear the Beep where you Sleep”. It is a campaign to make sure there are working smoke alarms in every bedroom. 

Home fires kill an average of eight people every day in the United States. Sixty percent of home fire deaths occurred in homes with no smoke alarms or working smoke alarms.
 

Fall Is San Diego's Peak Fire Season

Though house fires and wildfires can occur any time during the year, there is a peak for the wildfire season in San Diego County.  It is late September, October and into November.  While northern California and the northwest have seen major fires so far this season, we are just coming into our peak season.  If a wildfire threatens your neighborhood and you need to evacuate, do you know what to do?

CalFire has created an informative brochure and checklists to help you prepare, including emergency checklists, creating a wildfire action plan, assembling an emergency supply kit, and developing a family communication plan. Click here to view the fire safety checklists. 

CalFire is San Diego Prepared

We are happy to report that all CAL FIRE resources (engines, bulldozers, hand crews, and most overhead personnel) have been released from the Northern California fires and ready to respond  in San Diego County.

Here are the current Statewide Fire Statistics:

$25,000 grant from Grossmont Healthcare District

San Diego Regional Fire Foundation has received a $25,000 grant from the Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD), a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County region.
 
The grant will  assist in the purchase of emergency medical equipment, including automatic electronic defibrillators (AEDs) and mass casualty incident (MCI) kits for volunteer fire departments serving East County communities.
 
The new AEDs to be placed on fire engines will replace several  AEDs that are 10 years or older and may no longer be fully functional.
 
The MCI kits will enable emergency personnel to treat multiple victims on the scene prior to their transportation to area hospitals. The MCI kits may be used to assist  multiple victims of such emergencies as a school or workplace shooting, terrorist attack, multi-vehicle automobile accident, major fire, earthquake or collapsed building.

SDGE and the Fire Foundation to the Rescue!

La Jolla Reservation Volunteer Fire Department will receive a grant from SDGE and the Fire Foundation for essential equipment including fire hose, firefighter protective clothing and breathing apparatus. Photo courtesy of La Jolla Reservation Volunteer Fire Department.

 
The La Jolla Reservation Fire Department is one of the most financially needy departments in San Diego County, as the tribe has no casino-based revenue. The volunteer fire department serves not only the residents and guests on its reservation, just south of Palomar Mountain, but responds to all fire and medical calls in the area. This includes Highway 76, which runs through the reservation. Based on this highway, the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) has provided a grant of $482,000 for equipment such as fire hose, firefighter protective clothing and breathing apparatus. Since the equipment will also be used for non-highway use, the La Jolla Reservation must provide matching funds of $52,000 to get the full grant and must order the equipment by September 30, 2015.
 
The reservation approached the Fire Foundation in August 2015 for assistance in obtaining the matching funds. We reached out to a number of possible funders and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE) stepped up with a donation of $51,000.  SDGE saw an excellent way to leverage their funds by providing $51,000 and combining it with $482,000 from DOT and $1,000 from another source to purchase $534,000 in equipment to greatly improve public safety in the region.    

All’s Not Well