ENFIELD — Chief Edward Richards would like to offer Enfield residents safety tips and strategies to prevent arson as part of National Arson Awareness Week.
National Arson Awareness Week is celebrated each year during the first full week of May. This year, National Arson Awareness Week takes place May 7-13. The goal of this year’s campaign is Understanding and Mitigating Youth Firesetting Issues.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, more than half of all intentionally set fires are started by youths under the age of 18. Each year in the U.S., fires set by children and adolescents are responsible for hundreds of fire deaths, thousands of painful burn injuries, and millions of dollars in property loss.
Youth often set fires due to easy access to ignition materials, lack of supervision, curiosity and experimentation.
To educate the community and combat youth firesetting, Chief Richards and Enfield Fire District No. 1 would like to share the following safety tips from the U.S Fire Administration:
- Inspect your house for fire hazards
- Keep lighters and matches out of reach and away from children
- Install residential sprinklers in your house
- Ensure your house is equipped with working smoke alarms on every level inside and outside of sleeping areas
- Plan and practice your house fire escape plan
- Talk to your children about the legal consequences of firesetting
- Increase adult supervision around flammable materials
- Teach children of all ages that fire, even small fires, can spread quickly
- Teach children to alert an adult if they find unattended lighters or matches
Enfield Fire District No. 1 would also like to share the following youth firesetting safety tips with community members from the U.S Fire Administration:
- Provide fire safety education from preschool through high school
- Raise awareness in your community about youth firesetting
- Support community-based programs to provide services such as fire
safety education and counseling using community resources
For more information, visit the U.S. Fire Administration website.
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