The Irmo Fire District has been named a Fire Safe Community for 2019 and 2020 by the SC state Fire Marshal’s Office.
Fire Safe South Carolina has united several fire service organizations to reduce fires, fire injuries, and fire deaths in South Carolina.
These organizations include, South Carolina State Fire, South Carolina State Firefighters Association, South Carolina State Association of Fire Chiefs, and the South Carolina Fire Marshals Association.
According to SC State Fire, “No one group and no one person has the answer to solving our statewide concerns alone. Jointly, all groups strive to prevent unnecessary loss of life and property from fire and life safety risks. In this effort, we recognize we are stronger when we work together than when we work apart in recruiting statewide partners, identifying funding sources, developing messages for fire prevention, and developing strategies for implementation. As members of each group will partner, commitment for collaboration must start at the top of each organization with strong leadership.”
The Goals and Objectives of Fire Safe SC are as follows:
• Fire Safe South Carolina will result in a reduction of annual home fires in our state, decreasing risks for residents and firefighters.
• Increase fire service community risk reduction participation through increased training, partnerships, and opportunities.
• Fire Safe South Carolina will provide consistent fire prevention messages across South Carolina.
• Recruit community stakeholders and use various forms of mass communication, such as social media, to promote fire prevention messages.
• Fire Safe South Carolina will provide data-driven resources to enhance programming.
Fire Safe SC seeks to identify residents at the highest fire risk in participating communities, targeting home visits to those areas, and providing for the procurement and distribution of smoke alarms.
One in every 250 fires are fatal, compared with one in every 110 structure fires in the state. Education and resources has the potential to impact a number of potential fire-related fatalities; however, the goal of reducing ignitions serves also to reduce a number of injuries to both citizens and fire service professionals.
To more accurately understand fire-related fatalities, the program looks at research over a five year period. The overall most probable known causes, in varying order, are cooking, electrical, smoking, and heating.
On average, 75 people die each year from fire in the state. These fires occur in homes, in cars on the streets, and in other areas during daily activities. A fire-related fatality is defined as one in which a person is determined to have died from thermal injuries or toxic products of combustion. Fire service professionals assist the Community Loss Education and Response (CLEAR) Team collect potentially life-saving research.
Things to Know by the Numbers
• 85 percent of fire-related fatalities occur in homes
• 80 percent of fire-related fatalities have at least one human-related factor which may have impacted a person’s egress or awareness
• 66 percent of fire-related fatalities are victims aged 50 years and older
• 25 percent of fire-related fatalities are victims aged 70 years and older
• The Irmo Fire District has a very aggressive approach to fire safety.
“We complete a great deal of Public education including church visits, home owner association presentations, school visits, and home visits,” Irmo’s Fire Marshal Brian Haley said. “We have installed hundreds of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and identified fire hazards in homes and businesses in the Irmo Fire District which covers areas in and out of the Town of Irmo.”
