Incirlik, fire department urge residents to prevent home fires

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Lauren Padden
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  In 2007, U.S. fire departments responded to a blaze every 20 seconds, one structure fire was reported every 59 seconds and one home structure fire was reported every 79 seconds, according to the National Fire Prevention Association. 

These fire statistics are a five percent improvement over those of 2006. 

Ali Ozyesil, 39th Civil Engineering Squadron Fire Department assistant chief of prevention, believes those numbers have dropped due to prevention training and the annual Fire Prevention Week. 

The goal of Fire Prevention Week is to educate people on fire prevention measures, a goal that began 85 years ago with the first Fire Prevention Week, making it the longest-running public health and safety observance on record. 

The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Week is "Preventing Home Fires," with an emphasis on preventing the leading causes of home fires - cooking, heating, electrical and smoking-materials. 

Fire Prevention Week launched Oct. 5 and continues to Oct. 11. Throughout the week, fire department personnel and their mascot Sparky have educational activities scheduled for elementary school students at the Sparky House, reading with Sparky at the Library, a fire department open house and a display at Fall Fest, Oct. 18. 

Mr. Ozyesil suggests simple tasks everyone can do to prevent home fires. 

"The majority of home fires occur in the kitchen," he said. "Stay in the kitchen when cooking and keep a frying pan lid close. If a fire does occur, carefully place the lid over the flames and turn off the heat to keep the fire manageable until the fire department arrives." 

Other home fires start from heating sources, tobacco smoking and electrical components. 

"When using heating equipment, keeping a three-foot radius from anything flammable is a good rule of thumb," said Mr. Ozyesil. For smokers, it is recommended to use a deep, sturdy ashtray or smoke outside. To prevent electrical fires, replace cracked or damaged electrical cords and don't run extension cords underneath carpets. 

Having a working fire extinguisher is equally important. 

Kenneth Williams, 39th Civil Engineering Squadron deputy fire chief, recommends monthly inspections of fire extinguishers to ensure they remain in working condition. 

"Check the extinguisher for dents, corrosion or leakage and ensure the needle is in the green zone on the pressure gage," said Mr. Williams. If there is anything wrong with the extinguisher bring it to the fire department. 

Incirlik's fire department offers a hands-on fire extinguisher class 9 a.m. Thursdays. This training is mandatory for all active duty members but is open to anyone. 

Along with educating the public on fire extinguisher use, the fire department rigorously trains to be ready at a moment's notice. 

Incirlik's fire department is made up of 113 Turkish nationals and five U.S. Air Force-retired civilians. 

All Turkish firefighters start from the ground up, training in an on-site classroom and hands-on environment, taught by both American and Turkish firefighters. 

The year-round training environment teaches proper donning and use of 70 pounds worth of personal protective equipment, extinguishing structural fires, securing hazardous materials and working in confined spaces. 

Life at the fire department is contained completely in-house; all training, exercising and eating occur on site. Once the alarm sounds, all preparation and training is put into use but, thanks to the prevention measures taught throughout Fire Prevention Week, less alarms should be sounding off. 

For more information on Fire Prevention Week, call Mr. Ozyesil at 676-6974 or visit www.firepreventionweek.org.