October is Fire Prevention Month

Oklahoma Child Death Review Board and OKDHS Launch Fire Safety Initiative, Think.Prevent.Live.org Web Site

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- To support Fire Prevention Month and to help reduce the number of preventable child deaths in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Child Death Review Board and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services have launched the second installment of the Think.Prevent.Live. – Keep Our Children Safe campaign.
In March, OCDRB, in partnership with OKDHS, launched the Think.Prevent.Live. campaign at the State Capitol. The purpose of the campaign is to encourage adults to be watchful of children in their care at all times in hopes of reducing preventable child deaths. The first campaign installment focused on reducing preventable drownings.

“Each year dozens of Oklahoma children are burned or die as the result of fires,” said Annette Wisk Jacobi, chair, OCDRB. “Many of these could have been prevented with proper supervision of children and a working smoke detector. The OCDRB is so excited to launch the fire prevention phase of the Think.Prevent.Live. – Keep Our Children Safe campaign.”

According to Jacobi, parents and caregivers leave children alone for “just a minute.” They think that children know better than to play with matches, lighters or candles. They think because the house has a smoke detector – regardless of whether it works or not – that the family is safe.

“Children learn dangerous habits by simply observing grown-ups,” said Jerry Loyka, Oklahoma Safe Kids Coalition board member and Midwest City fire marshal. “Children see adults place a flame within inches of their face, leave matches or lighters laying on a table or counter, light a candle and leave it unattended, start a meal on the stove or in the oven and make a ‘quick trip to the store.’ A child left alone with access to fire is all it takes to create a tragedy. A spark can become an inferno in seconds.”

A smoke detector with good batteries and a responsible adult watching a child at all times help prevent fire-related injuries and death.

“Prevention is the key.  Teaching children about fire safety and practicing safe behavior in our homes will greatly reduce the risk we face every day,” said Lojka. “Make sure your smoke alarms have fresh batteries. Ninety-four percent of our homes have at least one smoke alarm, but less than half of those actually work.”

Oklahomans can learn more about Think.Prevent.Live., download materials to use in their organization and community and watch public services announcements at Think.Prevent.Live.org.

“We want everyone to get the message about child safety,” said Jacobi. “We encourage everyone to download materials, share them with family, friends and co-workers and help reduce the child deaths in Oklahoma.”

For more information about the Think.Prevent.Live. campaign, go to ThinkPreventLive.org or contact Lisa Rhoades, OCDRB, at (405) 271-8858.

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