Every year, fire departments around the country spend a week in April teaching school children about multiple aspects of fire prevention and safety. The Elk City Fire Department will join in, as they always do.
However, Elk City Fire Department Chief Kyle Chervenka also took this opportunity to speak to adult citizens about the role that they should play in fire prevention.
“This year, the two big things I would like to convey to the public pertain to the fire threats that we have seen in the last two years in the way of wildfires and the big need for up-to-date and functioning smoke detectors in homes,” Chief Chervenka said.
Chervenka focused first on wildfire prevention.
“In my eyes, the wildfires threats of the last two years have been pretty extensive,” he explained. “This is a good opportunity for us to talk to people who live at the edge of town or where their homes are surrounded by deep grass. Being prepared for the possibility of fire helps us tremendously. We will see homes that are, for example, on the edge of town often have long grasses grown pretty close up to their homes. That can be tough to navigate.”
Chief Chervenka emphasized that dire drought conditions are projected to continue throughout the year.
The chief then shifted to fire prevention which can take place within the home.
“We have been trying to secure a grant to start a smoke detector program,” Chervenka advised. “However, that is sometimes hard to achieve in smaller communities the size of ours. If we are unable to secure a grant, we will be approaching insurance companies to see if we can broker a partnership to dispense free detectors. The reason that we feel that this is so vital comes from what our records show. We don’t have as many structure fires as grassfires and wildfires, but we did notice a trend among the home and structure fires that we did have. We found around 90% of those homes or buildings did not have a fire detector. That early alert can make a huge difference. Of course, our number one goal is preserving life, and studies show that detectors decrease fire fatalities dramatically. But we also want to help our citizens save their homes and structures when possible. A fire detector can often get us that extra time to save that property.”
Chief Chervenka stressed that fire and smoke detectors must be replaced every ten years.
“They become much less effective after that time,” he stated. “We also see batteries go dead or not be functional. There are detectors now that have a one-time pull tab to activate them. You don’t ever have to replace the batteries because they last for ten years. Then, at ten years, it starts beeping. You throw it away and replace it. That is what I have in my home.”
Additionally, Chevenka recommended homes have foam fire extinguishers for the kitchen and a mixed-chemical extinguisher for the rest of the house.
“Preparedness makes a huge difference in the ultimate outcome,” he said.
