[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 40 (Monday, October 5, 1998)]
[Pages 1959-1960]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7131--Fire Prevention Week, 1998

October 2, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Fire claims more than 4,000 American lives each year, a tragic loss 
of life that we can and must prevent. Nearly 80 percent of these deaths 
occur in the home, where smoke and poisonous gases often kill people 
long before flames can reach them.
    Underestimating fire's deadly speed has cost many Americans their 
lives. Smoke alarms are one of the most effective safety tools available 
to ensure sufficient escape time, and research shows that by installing 
and maintaining working smoke alarms, we can reduce the risk of fire-
related death by nearly 50 percent. Another important safety

[[Page 1960]]

measure is a home fire escape plan, which enables everyone in the 
household to exit quickly during a fire emergency.
    As sponsor of Fire Prevention Week for more than 70 years, the 
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has selected ``Fire Drills--
The Great Escape!'' as the theme for this year's Fire Prevention Week. 
Together with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the NFPA reminds 
us to take responsibility for our personal safety and practice our home 
escape plans. On Wednesday, October 7, 1998, fire departments across 
America will coordinate home fire drills in support of National Fire 
Prevention Week. Community fire departments will signal the start of the 
``Great Escape Fire Drill'' by sounding their stations' fire alarms at 
6:00 p.m.
    As we focus on fire safety this week, let us also pay tribute to the 
courage and commitment of our Nation's fire and emergency services 
personnel. These dedicated men and women devote themselves, day in and 
day out, to protecting our lives and property from the ravages of fire. 
All America watched in awe this summer as thousands of firefighters from 
across the Nation battled the wildfires that raged through Florida for 
so many weeks. Leaving their own homes and families, these heroes put 
their lives on the line as street by street, house by house, they worked 
to save the homes of their fellow Americans. It is fitting that on 
Sunday, October 4, 1998, at the 17th annual National Fallen Firefighters 
Memorial Service in Emmitsburg, Maryland, our Nation will honor once 
again the valiant men and women across our country whose commitment to 
protecting our families and communities from fire cost them their lives.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 4 
through October 10, 1998, as Fire Prevention Week. I encourage people of 
the United States to take an active role in fire prevention not only 
this week, but also throughout the year. I also call upon every citizen 
to pay tribute to the members of our fire and emergency services who 
have lost their lives or been injured in service to their communities, 
and to those men and women who carry on their noble tradition.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of 
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., October 5, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
October 6.