The FCFD Fire Prevention Bureau

Education

The job of our fire prevention program is to prevent fires before they occur. This is attempted through education, inspection, preplanning, and enforcement/interpretation of the Ohio Fire Code.

Each year the prevention program is busy at our firehouse, local schools, and beyond, teaching children about fire safety. Programs covering "stop, drop, cover, and roll, crawl under smoke and know two ways out" are usually covered along with several other topics. In 2008 over 1200 citizens in the Fredericktown community were served by our programs and firefighters.

It is our hope that all residents have working smoke detectors in their homes. We suggest having one on each floor and in each bedroom. We want to stress changing your smoke detector batteries twice a year. We also suggest replacing smoke detectors every 10 years. The fire department has smoke detectors available free of charge, please contact the station or a member for more information.

Inspections

Beginning January 1, 2008, the Fredericktown Community Fire District begans its drive to complete the first official fire inspections within our jurisdiction. Through the means of two department personnel, computer software, and specific forms, these firefighters will complete the inspections on a yearly basis.

Home fire safety inspections are completed for residents with foster children and day care.

Residential inspections are not a requirement or mandate within the State of Ohio, however we are more than happy to do a home inspection for you. Home fire safety inspections are completed for residents with foster children and day care per state requirements of these programs.

Pre-planning

As department inspectors are in the community completing their inspections of property, they are completing the pre-planning process as well. This pre-planning process provides us with inportant information in case of fire or another type of emergency. Typical items that we note are:

• Building layout, including room sizes, building overall dimensions, and pertinent areas
• Utilities shut-offs (electric, gas, water)
• Hazards within the building (chemicals, flammables, or other important items)
• Existance of fire supression systems, hose connections, and alarms.