It’s almost one of our favorite weeks of the year at Beacon Hose — Fire Prevention Week, when we get to share important fire prevention and safety tips with our community.

Make sure to join us Saturday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the firehouse for Octoberfest! In addition to great food, drinks, and games, we’ll kick off Fire Prevention Week with hands-on demonstrations to teach some important fire prevention and safety tips!

This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme is “Smoke Alarms: Make Them Work for You!” Very simply, smoke alarms save lives, so you need to make sure you have yours installed properly, check them regularly, and practice fire escape plans in case they ever go off! (If you need some alarms, or you want yours checked by the Beacon Falls Fire Marshal’s Office, click here.)

We want to make sure that all of our residents have developed fire escape plans in their own homes. Everyone who lives in your home should know two ways out of every room, practice them to simulate conditions of a smoky house at nighttime, and have a safe meeting place outside and away from your home so that we know everyone made it out safely.

We also want to make sure our residents have installed smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of their homes, including the basement. Larger homes may need more alarms.

Here are a few key bits of information that you might not know about the importance of smoke detectors and escape plans.

Beacon Hose wants to remind all of our residents that Fire Prevention Week is this Oct. 8-14! This year’s theme is “Cooking Safety Starts with You! Pay Attention to Fire Prevention” — we recommend looking at this great tip sheet about cooking safety!

Not only will Beacon Hose visit Laurel Ledge Elementary School and United Day during Fire Prevention Week, but we invite everyone to join Operation EDITH on Thursday, Oct. 12!

Operation EDITH stands for “Exit Drills in the Home” and is intended to help families practice their home fire escape plans. All you need to do to participate is wait until Beacon Hose’s fire whistle sounds at 6 p.m., practice your home fire escape plan as a family, and wait outside at your meeting place. Beacon Hose’s firetrucks will be driving through many neighborhoods to see how many families have a secure plan and practiced it with us.