[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 11, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15063-S15064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this week is National Fire 
Prevention 

[[Page S 15064]]

Week, a time for us to look back on the year's efforts to prevent fire-
related deaths, injuries, and property damage, and an occasion to 
reflect on the important role of the brave men and women who comprise 
our national fire service.
  Mr. President, as you know, fire is a serious problem in the United 
States--an average of 4,000 Americans die from fire annually and nearly 
30,000 Americans sustain fire-related injuries every year.
  Fire Prevention Week falls on the anniversary of the Great Chicago 
Fire of 1871 which tragically killed 250 people, burned 17,000 
buildings, and rendered over 100,000 people homeless. As a Nation, we 
have made significant progress in our efforts to improve firefighting 
and prevention methods since then, but we still have a long way to go. 
More recently, the Happy Land Social Club fire of 1990 in New York City 
which claimed the lives of 87 people reminds us of the massive 
destruction that can be caused by fire.
  Increasingly, however, the efforts of our fire service and 
organizations such as the National Fire Protection Association, the 
annual sponsor of National Fire Prevention Week, are making a 
difference. Due to a thoughtful, multipronged attack, in which battles 
are won by not having them fought in the first place, fire-related 
deaths are at an alltime low--reduced to 4,275 last year from 8,900 
deaths in 1913 when standardized recordkeeping began.
  No one is immune to the dangers of fire. On February 26, 1994, nine 
Marylanders were killed in a single family home simply because a candle 
was placed too close to a sofa bed. In order to avoid tragedies like 
these, members of the fire service, the National Fire Protection 
Association, and others use National Fire Prevention Week each year to 
renew and strengthen their commitment to fire-related education 
programs, construction and engineering improvements, and more effective 
fire regulations. In line with a recent escalation in efforts to 
minimize fires caused by carelessness or neglect, the theme of this 
year's Fire Prevention Week is ``Watch What You Heat.''
  I salute the American Fire Service on the occasion of National Fire 
Prevention Week and I join in their call to make our country as fire 
safe as possible.

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