Halesite Plans Fire-Prevention Open House

The Halesite Fire Department will show a kitchen fire and demonstrate various tools it uses, at a fire safety open house on Oct. 19.

Firefighters will explain how the Jaws of Life tool works, provide demonstrations on the rescue squad and show how a fire is put out.

Kids can go through a smoke house and practice using a fire extinguisher.

The open house will run from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

October is Fire Prevention Month, and in particular, this is Fire Prevention Week, when many departments around the country are emphasizing fire safety.

The National Fire Protection Association and the Halesite department are encouraging people to "Have Two Ways Out," a safety plan for escaping a fast-moving fire.

The fire association said that a recent study found that one-third of Americans households thought they would have at least 6 minutes before a fire in their home would become life threatening. But fires are fast moving.

In 2010, U.S. fire departments responded to 369,500 home structure fires. These fires caused 13,350 civilian injuries, 2,640 civilian deaths, and $6.9 billion in direct damage.