[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 158 (Tuesday, September 30, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S10128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

  The resolution (S. Res. 699) supporting the goals and ideals of Fire 
Prevention Week, was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 699

       Whereas firefighters have maintained their dedication to 
     the health and safety of the American public since the first 
     American fire departments were organized in the colonial era;
       Whereas more than 1,140,000 firefighters protect the United 
     States through their heroic service;
       Whereas approximately 1,600,000 fires are reported 
     annually;
       Whereas 102 firefighters lost their lives in the line of 
     duty in 2007;
       Whereas fire departments responded to nearly 400,000 home 
     fires in 2006;
       Whereas, in 2006, there were an estimated 396,000 reported 
     home structure fires resulting in 2,580 civilian deaths and 
     12,500 civilian injuries, and $6,800,000,000 in direct damage 
     in the United States;
       Whereas home fires cause 80 percent of civilian fire deaths 
     and 76 percent of injuries;
       Whereas heating equipment and smoking are the leading 
     causes of civilian home fire deaths;
       Whereas children under 5 and older adults face the highest 
     risk of home fire death, but young adults face a higher risk 
     of home fire injury;
       Whereas electrical distribution and lighting equipment were 
     involved in an estimated 20,900 reported home fires in 2005;
       Whereas home fires in 2005 resulted in 500 civilian deaths 
     and 1,100 injuries, with an estimated $862,000,000 in direct 
     property damage per year;
       Whereas working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in 
     reported home structure fires in half;
       Whereas 65 percent of reported home fire deaths in 2000 
     through 2004 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke 
     alarms or no working smoke alarms;
       Whereas Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public 
     health and safety observance on record;
       Whereas we have honored firefighters for educating the 
     American public since President Harding declared the first 
     Fire Prevention Week in 1922;
       Whereas the National Fire Protection Association has 
     designated the week of October 5-11, 2008, as Fire Prevention 
     Week; and
       Whereas educating Americans on methods to prevent home 
     fires continues to be a priority for all firefighters: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the work of firefighters to educate and 
     protect the Nation's communities; and
       (2) supports the goals and ideals of Fire Prevention Week, 
     October 5-11, 2008, as designated by the National Fire 
     Protection Association.

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