Columbia hold parade for Fire Prevention Week

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – Firefighters in Columbia want to help prevent disaster from striking your home. Monday morning at 11, they’re holding a parade at the corner of Main and Laurel Streets. It’s to kick off Fire Prevention Week. This year’s campaign is “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Yours Every Month.” Fire officials say you should have one in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. All week, the Columbia Fire Department plans to conduct more than 25 fire education demonstrations throughout the city. Here’s a list of other planned activities: Proclamation On Tuesday, October 7, 2014: Chief Jenkins and Staff will attend the October 7th City Council meeting to discuss 2014 Fire Prevention Week events and will be presented with the 2014 Fire Prevention Week Proclamation. Fire Drill On Wednesday, October 8, 2014: the Columbia Fire Department will be conducting fire evacuation drills at Rosewood Elementary School, 3300 Rosewood Dr. at 10:00am and Hand Middle School, 2600 Wheat St. at 1:30pm. The purpose of these drills is to evaluate the response time of the evacuation and provide feedback to the schools that may be necessary to improve upon any deficiencies in the event of an emergency. Spread the Word Campaign On Thursday, October 9, 2014, from 7:30am to 9:00am: the Columbia Fire Department will hold its first “Spread the Word” Campaign. Fire Inspectors will be at intersections of Elmwood and Bull, Gervais and Assembly Street, Blossom and Huger Street, N. Main and Sunset and Bull Taylor Street with signs that read “Change your Clock, Change your Batteries” and “Test your Smoke Alarm Monthly”. The purpose is to spread the word about smoke alarms. Smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference in a fire, but need to be working properly. Unfortunately, many home fire deaths result from fires where a smoke alarm is present but does not operate. We want to spread the word and motivate the public to test their smoke alarms each month to make sure they are working properly.