The 100th Anniversary of Fire Prevention Week Spotlights the Importance of Fire Escape Planning

Published 11:30 am Sunday, September 25, 2022

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LaPlace, LA (Grassroots Newswire) – During the week of October 9, 2022, the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) observes the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week, the longest-running public health observance in the United States. The timing of the annual event commemorates the date of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on October 8, 1871, and killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres of land.1

In support of this year’s theme for Fire Prevention Week2 – “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape” – the fire and water cleanup and restoration specialists with SERVPRO® in the LaPlace area remind home and business owners that the single most important thing to do when fire breaks out is to get out of the building. “This is especially true in a home fire,” says Rick Isaacson, CEO of Servpro Industries, LLC. “The NFPA warns that today’s homes burn faster than ever, leaving residents two minutes or less to safely escape a home fire after the smoke alarm sounds.”

According to the NFPA, your ability to escape from a fire depends on two things: early warning from smoke alarms and advance planning. Their Fire Prevention Week website (https://www.nfpa.org/fpw) offers information and resources in English and Spanish to help property owners choose and maintain a smoke alarm, plan an escape route, and ensure that every person, including children and the elderly, knows what to do in case of a fire.

If your home is affected by fire, the next challenge you face is cleanup and restoration. “This is where a disaster remediation specialist like SERVPRO can help,” says Isaacson. “Our website offers answers to FAQs3 that can help you understand what you should do first after a fire, how the fire repair and restoration process works, and more. Even small fires or neighboring fires can cause extensive damage to walls, ceilings and contents in a home, so it’s best to check with a professional to see if remediation is the way to go.”

Additional fire-related frequently asked questions covered include:

  • What items can survive a house fire?
  • Can smoke damage be removed?
  • How much does it cost to fix a fire damaged house?
  • How to clean after fire damage?
  • What should I do with all the water that was used to put out the fire?
  • How to recognize and deal with smoke damage even if your home hasn’t been directly impacted by fire?

SERVPRO specializes in fire and water cleanup and restoration services and repair services, helping to remediate damage for both commercial and residential customers. For more information about SERVPRO, please visit www.servpro.com/. For more information on SERVPRO in the LaPlace area, please contact please contact one of the local business owners below.

* For SERVPRO of New Orleans Uptown & Mid-City, please contact William Love who can be reached at (504) 468-3047 or wlove@servpro10845.com.
* For SERVPRO of North Kenner, Harahan & Lakeview, please contact Jim Metteauer who can be reached at (504) 468-3046 or wlove@servpro10845.com.

1 https://youtu.be/tI-_AtGkvT4
2 https://www.nfpa.org/events/events/fire-prevention-week/about
3 https://www.servpro.com/resources/faq/fire-damage

About SERVPRO
For more than 50 years, SERVPRO has been a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup and restoration services, construction, mold mitigation, and biohazard and pathogen remediation. SERVPRO’s professional services network of more than 2,000 individually owned and operated franchises spans the United States and Canada, responding to property damage emergencies large and small – from million-square-foot commercial facilities to individual homes. When disaster strikes, homeowners, business owners, and major insurance companies alike rely on SERVPRO to make it “Like it never even happened.”

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