NFPA and State Farm team up for fifth year to promote Fire Prevention Week and its fire safety messages in hundreds of communities nationwide

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and State Farm are teaming for the fifth consecutive year to promote Fire Prevention Week, 3–9 October 2021 and its fire safety messages among thousands of communities nationwide. NFPA has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week, an annual public awareness campaign, for nearly 100 years.

State Farm is delivering approximately 3,500 Fire Prevention Week toolkits and other fire safety resources to local fire departments in 48 states. Each toolkit includes a host of resources for promoting Fire Prevention Week, including brochures, magnets, posters and more that fire departments can distribute at schools, open houses and other community events. They are also donating over 1500 Sparky the Fire Dog educator kits to communities across the US.

‘Actively supporting local fire departments is a priority at State Farm,’ said David Coakes, corporate responsibility manager at State Farm. ‘We’re thrilled to team up with NFPA so that fire departments have the resources needed to share potentially life-saving fire safety messages with their communities.’

‘Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety,’ the theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, works to better educate people about the sounds smoke alarms make, what they mean, and how to respond to them.

The latest Smoke Alarms US Home Fires report from NFPA shows that working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a reported home fire by 55%. However, almost three out of five US home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms (41%) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16%). Missing or non-functional power sources, including missing or disconnected batteries, dead batteries, and disconnected hardwired alarms or other AC power issues, are the most common factors when smoke alarms fail to operate.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign reflects NFPA and State Farm’s efforts to make sure smoke alarms remain in working order, giving people the time needed to escape safely in the event of a home fire.

‘The proactive support we receive from State Farm strengthens our ability to reach the public with our Fire Prevention Week messages,’ said Andrea Vastis, senior director of public education at NFPA. ‘We’re incredibly grateful for their ongoing generosity and commitment to reducing the risks associated with home fires, particularly where the majority of US fire deaths occur each year.’

To learn more about this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, visit www.fpw.org