Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week 2008 is October 5-11

About Fire Prevention Week
Teaching safety all year long
Commemorating a conflagration
The 'Moo' myth
The biggest blaze that week
Eight decades of fire prevention

Teaching safety all year long

For the past 83 years, NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week. This year's theme, "When Fire Strikes: Get Out! Stay Out!" underscores a simple lesson. Because fire can grow and spread so quickly, you may have as few as two minutes to escape safely. When every second can mean the difference between life and death, advance planning is absolutely essential. We'll show you how real families develop and practice their home fire drills, and introduce you to some families who got out (and stayed out!) just in time, thanks to their fire safety preparedness. You'll learn how to formulate a safety plan that's right for you, whether you live in a single-family home, a dwelling with multiple families, or an apartment building. Being ready to deal with a home fire isn't difficult; it just takes a little preparation and some practice.

Commemorating a conflagration
Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow - belonging to Mrs. Catherine O'Leary - kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire. Chances are you've heard some version of this story yourself; people have been blaming the Great Chicago Fire on the cow and Mrs. O'Leary, for more than 130 years. But recent research by Chicago historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk this version of events.

The 'Moo' myth
cow Like any good story, the 'case of the cow' has some truth to it. The great fire almost certainly started near the barn where Mrs. O'Leary kept her five milking cows. But there is no proof that O'Leary was in the barn when the fire broke out - or that a jumpy cow sparked the blaze. Mrs. O'Leary herself swore that she'd been in bed early that night, and that the cows were also tucked in for the evening.

But if a cow wasn't to blame for the huge fire, what was? Over the years, journalists and historians have offered plenty of theories. Some blamed the blaze on a couple of neighborhood boys who were near the barn sneaking cigarettes. Others believed that a neighbor of the O'Leary's may have started the fire. Some people have speculated that a fiery meteorite may have fallen to earth on October 8, starting several fires that day - in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Chicago.

The biggest blaze that week
While the Great Chicago Fire was the best-known blaze to erupt during this fiery two-day stretch, it wasn't the biggest. That distinction goes to the Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating forest fire in American history. The fire, which also occurred on October 9th, 1871, roared through Northeast Wisconsin, burning down 16 towns, killing 1152 people, and scorching 1.2 million acres before it was done.

Historical accounts of the fire say that the blaze began when several railroad workers clearing land for tracks unintentionally started a brush fire. Before long, the fast-moving flames were whipping through the area 'like a tornado,' some survivors said. It was the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin that suffered the worst damage. Within an hour, the entire town had been destroyed.

Eight decades of fire prevention
Those who survived the Chicago and Peshtigo fires never forgot what they'd been through; both blazes produced countless tales of bravery and heroism. But the fires also changed the way that firefighters and public officials thought about fire safety. On the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America (today known as the International Fire Marshals Association), decided that the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire should henceforth be observed not with festivities, but in a way that would keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention. The commemoration grew increasingly official over the years.

In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, National Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation pronouncing a national observance during that week every year since 1925. Fire Prevention Week 2005 is October 9-15.

This site was last updated 03/04/08