Fire Prevention Festival is this weekend in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- The Lexington Fire Department is inviting the community to come out to its Fire Prevention Festival this weekend. It will be held on Sunday (Oct. 4) from 3:00pm-6:00pm at the Robert F. Stephens Courthouse in downtown Lexington. A parade will follow the festival at 6:30pm.

The event is part of the ‘Fire Prevention Week’ campaign. Firefighters say this year’s message is ‘Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!’ They say that location is very important when it comes to smoke alarms. Firefighters say the alarms should be in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement. Firefighter Jessica Bowman says, “In a fire, seconds count…Half of home fire deaths result from fires reported at night between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are asleep. Home smoke alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough time to get out.”

‘Fire Prevention Week’ is a national event that runs this year from October 4- 10. According to the National Fire Protection Association, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. It also says 3 out of 5 fire deaths happened in fires in homes with no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms. The NFPA offers the following safety tips:

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
• Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. This way, when one sounds, they all do.
• Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
• Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they don’t respond properly.
• Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.
• If the smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Go to your outside meeting place.
• Call the fire department from outside the home.