CARY KICKS OFF NATIONAL FIRE PREVENTION WEEK AT LOCAL MALL

Highlights include new outdoor festival with obstacle course and safety checks

CARY, NC – The Town of Cary Fire and Police departments along with thousands of mall shoppers and area citizens are geared up for two weekends of life-saving fun as part of National Fire Prevention Week at Cary Towne Center, 1105 Walnut St.  Indoor activities are being held today through Sunday, October 8 at the mall, and outdoor activities are scheduled for the following weekend, October 14-15. 

The Town joins the nation in celebrating the week-long observance October 8-14 with activities designed to educate citizens on and raise awareness about how to keep cooking fires from starting in the first place.  Fire Prevention Week 2006 focuses on the theme, “Prevent Cooking Fires:  Watch What you Heat”.  Cooking is the number one cause of home fires locally and nationally.  According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking equipment is involved in more than 100,000 reported home fires each year.  Most of those fires happen because people are not paying attention to their cooking. 

“We invite everyone out to the mall to learn ways to prevent and respond to fires,” said Kathy Ellis.  “The events that we have planned are not only fun for kids and parents, but most importantly, the information that we will share may help save you and your loved ones’ lives.”

Throughout this weekend, mall visitors can participate in a variety of activities planned for inside the mall near the food court:

Everyone is invited to return the following weekend for a host of activities as shown in the table below:

For the first time, Fire Prevention Week activities will feature an “Outdoor Safety Festival” complete with a “Kid’s Combat Challenge” that includes seven obstacles: an inflatable slide; stop, and drop and roll station; crawl low in smoke simulation; hose carry; keiser machine ventilation simulation; dummy drag; and extinguishing a miniature house fire.  Age groups for participants will be 4-6; 7-9; and 10-12.  Winners in each category will receive trophies and the first 100 participants will receive a Kid’s Combat Challenge Survivor’s T-Shirt.  Registration for the challenge will take place on Saturday, October 14, 10-noon, outside next to the event.  An awards ceremony will follow the event at 3:30 p.m. on that Saturday.

Also, the Cary Police Department will join the Fire Department with a bike rodeo, Kid’s ID station and child passenger safety seat checks during the outdoor festival.  Then, Sunday’s festival will focus on a “Rescue” theme, and visitors will have a chance to watch local emergency officials perform a vehicle extrication and aerial rescue pickoff.  Cary EMS will execute a simulated trauma run as part of these exercises.  Rescue equipment and vehicles will also be displayed throughout the day.

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871 .

For more, visit Fire Prevention Week at www.townofcary.org  or call (919) 460-4958 .

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