Join Merrimack Fire Department for Annual Open House

Another summer has flown by and once again it is almost time for Fire Prevention Week. This years fire prevention week is Oct. 6 to 12. During this week all fire departments try to educate the public in ways to prevent needless loss of life from fire.

This is the 90th year that fire departments from around the country have observed this event making it the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The National Fire Prevention Association’s theme this year is “Prevent Kitchen Fires.” During this years fire safety campaign fire departments will be spreading the word about the dangers of kitchen fires, most of which result from unattended cooking, and teaching local residents how to prevent kitchen fires from starting in the first place.

According to the latest NFPA research, cooking is the leading cause of home fires. Two of every five home fires begin in the kitchen, more than any other place in the home. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of home fire related injuries. Many times we respond to a kitchen fire that started after the resident left the kitchen for only a few minutes.

Among the safety tips that we are emphasizing are:

• Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, broiling or boiling food.
• If you must leave the kitchen, even for a short time, turn off the stove.
• When you are simmering, baking or roasting food, check it regularly, stay in the home and use a timer to remind you it is done.
• If you have young children, use the stove’s back burners whenever possible. Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the stove.
• When cooking do not wear clothing with loose fitting sleeves.
• Keep potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper and plastic bags, towels, and anything else that can burn, away from your stovetop.
• Clean up food and grease spills from burners and stovetops.
• Always have a functioning smoke detector on each floor of your home, and in each bedroom.

As part of the Merrimack Fire Departments observance for Fire Prevention Week we will conduct our annual Open House on Thursday evening, October 3rd, 2013 from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM.The Open House is the Departments way of showing the citizens who we are and what we do, as well as demonstrating our emergency capabilities, equipment, apparatus, stations and personnel. This has become an event enjoyed by many Merrimack families, and our normal attendance is 400-500 visitors

Open house activities will include fire extinguisher demonstrations, an automobile extrication demonstration with the “Jaws of Life” and several EMS demonstrations, a live fire demonstration showing the differences between a sprinkled and non-sprinkled room, and automobile air bag safety demonstrations. There will be tours of the Central Fire Station and all our fire apparatus and equipment. The Merrimack Police Department K9 and the State Fire Marshal’s Accelerant Sniffing K9 will be in attendance. The Fire Safety smoke trailer will be on-site to show children how to escape from a home fire. Sparky the Fire Dog, Smokey Bear and Freddie the Fire Truck will all be making appearances. Staff members from our Career, Call Fire, Call EMS, and Explorer Divisions will be available to answer any questions you may have.

Refreshments will be provided by several local restaurants.

Please contact Fire Marshal John Manuele at 424-3690 with any questions.