Mayor Teri Johnston and the Key West City Commission proclaimed this week as Fire Prevention Week, and the Key West Fire Department calls all of October Fire Prevention Month.
Each year, the National Fire Protection Association focuses on a theme. For 2023, it's “Cooking Safety Starts with YOU. Pay attention to fire prevention."
Home fires kill thousands of people annually, and many can be prevented.
Division Chief of Fire Prevention and Fire Marshal Jason Barroso accepted the proclamation, along with a number of other members of the Key West Fire Department.
He noted that all month, members of the department reach out to the community and to school children, teaching the best practices for fire safety.
“I would also like to remind the citizens of Key West that we receive a yearly donation of smoke detectors,” said Barroso, “which allows us to provide free smoke detectors for members of the community in need.”
The detectors are available at the Central Fire Station #1 at 1600 North Roosevelt Blvd.
“We want to thank Mrs. Diane Schmidt and D.J. McCarthy of Opal Key Resort, as well as Andy Strunk of Strunk Ace Hardware, for generously donating the detectors,” he said. “Stay safe and have a fire safety plan.”