LIHUE — At least 500 people took part in the 2024 Fire Prevention Week kickoff on Saturday at the Kauai Philippine Cultural Center.
Kauai Fire Department (KFD) Fire Prevention Capt. Kaeo Kinoshita was pleased with the large number of adults who joined keiki at the event that announced Fire Prevention Week, which started on Oct. 6 and continues through the Oct. 12.
“This event is a great opportunity to bring our partners and community together to prevent fires at home as well as dangerous wildfires,” said (KFD) Chief Michael Gibson. “Besides our community risk reduction programs, we want to introduced our public education curriculum to families to encourage fire prevention conservations that start at home.”
TGI reader Brian Atendido was pleased he decided to stop in at the event where Swim Kauai Aquatics was hosting a swim meet at the adjacent YMCA pool. He said by having the many partners on hand, attendees could not help but learn something new, whether it related to fire or not. The event also allowed people to meet the real-life heroes when they’re not under the strain of responding to situations.
Some of the partnering groups offering hands-on stations included the Kauai Police Department, the Lihue Airport Crash/Fire/Rescue, the Kauai Emergency Management Agency, the Agency on Elderly Affairs, Friends of the Kauai Fire Department, the American Red Cross, Ocean Safety Bureau and more.
Activities at the family-friendly event ranged from tours of fire trucks, police cars, to hands-on learning of CPR, learning to properly use a fire extinguisher, to picture-taking with Smokey and Smokey the Bear.
State Farm Insurance agents Eric Kaneda and Darrelyn Lemke both arranged to have Fire Prevention Week tool kits donated that illustrate this year’s theme of “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you.”
According to State Farm and the National Fire Protection Association, Fire Prevention Week is celebrated throughout North America every October. The observance is the oldest U.S. public health observance.
For more than 100 years, Fire Prevention Week has worked to educate people on the risk of home fires and ways to minimize them. Local fire departments, schools, and community organizations play a key role in bringing Fire Prevention Week to life in their communities each year, and spreading basic but critical fire safety messages.
