The City of Clermont Proclaims the Week of October 7 Through October 13 as FIRE PREVENTION WEEK.
The theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware – fire can happen anywhereTM” . The slogan serves to remind the community that everyone needs to take personal steps to increase their safety from fire.
The Clermont Fire Department is dedicated to reducing the occurrence of home fires and home fire injuries through prevention and protection education.
The residents of Clermont are in good hands. On March 13, 2018, the city’s Fire Department became Lake County’s first department to earn the Commission on Fire Accreditation International’s Accreditation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence. The coveted achievement is the gold standard among fire departments around the world. Of the nearly 500 fire departments and stations in Florida, only 22 have earned accreditation. There are 30,000 fire departments in the U.S. alone and many more worldwide.
Clermont Fire department is one of only 179 civilian (non-DOD) departments worldwide that hold this designation. The Commission examined the department in 10 categories that included administration, training, and competency, the exhaustive process looked at the fire department’s programs, resources, and planning. The department also conducted internal and external focus groups assessing perceptions of the department’s service to the community. The Clermont Fire Department has 83 full-time employees and operates four stations, including one joint station with Lake County.
Clermont Fire Chief Carle Bishop and his department have one of the finest Fire Departments in the United States but still need the assistance of its residents. Residents are encouraged to have a home fire escape plan that will provide the skill set and know-how to quickly and safely escape a home fire situation.
Be aware of your surroundings. Look for available ways out in the event of a fire or other emergency. Respond when the smoke alarm sounds by exiting the building immediately.
Home fires killed 2,735 people in the United States in 2016, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and fire departments in the United States responded to 352,000 home fires.
Newer homes are built with lightweight materials that burn faster than older home constructions; and these conditions contribute to a much smaller window of time for people to escape a home fire safely, with people having as little as one to two minutes to escape from the time the smoke alarm sounds.
Support the many public safety activities and efforts of the Clermont Fire Department during Fire Prevention Week 2018.
