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Fire Prevention Festival
  
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By YVETTE OROZCO
This Saturday at the Strawberry Park Pavilion, the Pasadena Fire Marshal’s Office and the Pasadena Volunteer Fire Department join forces to remind residents about fire prevention and safety.
The 8th annual Fire Prevention Festival, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., caps off a full week of safety and prevention awareness.
“Eight years ago, we decided to hold one large-scale fire prevention festival with the combined efforts of the fire marshal’s office and all the different fire stations to put on one really nice fire prevention festival for all of the citizens,” said Pasadena Fire Marshal David Brannon.
Before, the events were held separately at each individual station, but officials wanted to expand their reach.
“It had been a great success (before), but we just felt that combining our efforts, we would be able to touch a lot more people,” Brannon said.
The festival will be an educational tool for the community with a child-friendly environment: moon walks, a petting zoo, fire safety tattoos, door prizes and a chance to earn a Junior Fire Prevention Officer certificate if they participate in five of the seven booths.
“Each station mans a particular type of prevention booth in presenting the message,” said Brannon.
Such booths include firefighter dad; get low and go; stop drop and roll; E.D.I.T.H. (Exit Drills In The Home) program; and a fire science demo.
Attendance has grown in its eight years as the event expands through word of mouth, although this year, Hurricane Ike presented a challenge. Whether Ike will affect attendance at this year’s festival will not deter organizers from presenting their message.
“It doesn’t matter if there a handful of people or a large group, we still need to relay the message of fire prevention and fire safety,” he said. “We’re optimistic that while the storm has dampened a lot of people’s spirits, we feel that we’re still going to have a good turnout.”
The fire department has played a major role in post-Ike recovery efforts, responding to calls in regard to downed power lines, generator issues and debris fires.
“Even with all of that, our staff has really stepped up and has done a superb job in putting this festival together because it takes a lot of time and effort to put something like this and for it to be a success,” said Brannon. “It rained on our parade a little bit; however, we feel that the show must go on.”
The department is involved in fire safety and prevention education throughout the year, but in October, officially designated fire prevention month, that effort intensifies.
“With the recent events that have occurred, we still have people utilizing candles and generators for light then we have found that when CenterPoint brings power back on we are getting pretty significant fires,” he said. “I think it is important for us to go out there to promote fire safety and highlight some of those issues along with trying to educate the public.”
Firefighters and fire marshals have been set up at Pasadena Town Square Mall since Monday, passing out information on safety and prevention and 9-1-1 service, especially with cell phone use.
The 8th annual Fire Prevention Festival, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., caps off a full week of safety and prevention awareness.
“Eight years ago, we decided to hold one large-scale fire prevention festival with the combined efforts of the fire marshal’s office and all the different fire stations to put on one really nice fire prevention festival for all of the citizens,” said Pasadena Fire Marshal David Brannon.
Before, the events were held separately at each individual station, but officials wanted to expand their reach.
“It had been a great success (before), but we just felt that combining our efforts, we would be able to touch a lot more people,” Brannon said.
The festival will be an educational tool for the community with a child-friendly environment: moon walks, a petting zoo, fire safety tattoos, door prizes and a chance to earn a Junior Fire Prevention Officer certificate if they participate in five of the seven booths.
“Each station mans a particular type of prevention booth in presenting the message,” said Brannon.
Such booths include firefighter dad; get low and go; stop drop and roll; E.D.I.T.H. (Exit Drills In The Home) program; and a fire science demo.
Attendance has grown in its eight years as the event expands through word of mouth, although this year, Hurricane Ike presented a challenge. Whether Ike will affect attendance at this year’s festival will not deter organizers from presenting their message.
“It doesn’t matter if there a handful of people or a large group, we still need to relay the message of fire prevention and fire safety,” he said. “We’re optimistic that while the storm has dampened a lot of people’s spirits, we feel that we’re still going to have a good turnout.”
The fire department has played a major role in post-Ike recovery efforts, responding to calls in regard to downed power lines, generator issues and debris fires.
“Even with all of that, our staff has really stepped up and has done a superb job in putting this festival together because it takes a lot of time and effort to put something like this and for it to be a success,” said Brannon. “It rained on our parade a little bit; however, we feel that the show must go on.”
The department is involved in fire safety and prevention education throughout the year, but in October, officially designated fire prevention month, that effort intensifies.
“With the recent events that have occurred, we still have people utilizing candles and generators for light then we have found that when CenterPoint brings power back on we are getting pretty significant fires,” he said. “I think it is important for us to go out there to promote fire safety and highlight some of those issues along with trying to educate the public.”
Firefighters and fire marshals have been set up at Pasadena Town Square Mall since Monday, passing out information on safety and prevention and 9-1-1 service, especially with cell phone use.
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