Aurora Fire Department expands safety campaign
The message of National Fire Safety Month may be taken to heart more than usual in Aurora, after the worst fire in the city’s history claimed six lives in May.
The city’s fire department is working to reach at least 13,000 people this month with messages about the importance of escape plans and safe candle use, Deputy Fire Chief John Lehman said Thursday.
With 250 presentations planned for schools this month, fire officials estimate 6,000 kids will hear tips like:
Ÿ make an escape plan by drawing a map of the home, including doors and windows;
Ÿ know two ways to exit each room, if possible;
Ÿ and make sure doors and windows open easily.
The fire department also is trying to educate adults, interacting with residents at supermarkets, businesses and factories and inserting fliers in church bulletins.
“We’ve heard from a lot of adults citywide who either forgot the (fire safety) message from the time they went through school or they didn’t get it in the appropriate manner,” Lehman said.
Alderman Juany Garza said she appreciates the department’s efforts to provide fire safety information in Spanish as well as English.
“They provided a lot of magnets with Spanish instructions about candles,” Garza said. “I think it’s working pretty good so far.”
A candle might have caused the May 15 fire in a 10-unit apartment building at 716 Claim St. that killed Jose Marcos, Francisco Marcos Jr., Francisco Marcos Sr., Micaela Perez, Christina Dominguez Navarro and Alex Gonzaga.
The fire department’s candle safety tips include:
Ÿ put out candles when leaving a room or going to sleep;
Ÿ keep candle holders on uncluttered surfaces one foot away from anything flammable;
Ÿ and don’t let candles burn to their bases.
After the deadly blaze, Garza called for more fire safety education targeted specifically at Hispanic adults.
The fire department responded by working with Garza and church leaders to place fire safety messages in bulletins and by sending Spanish-speaking firefighters to Latino supermarkets and factories where many Spanish speakers work, Lehman said.
This month’s fire safety campaign is an expansion of that targeted effort, and aims to reach a broad range of Aurorans — adults, kids, Hispanics and people of other ethnicities, Lehman said.