According to the National Fire Prevention Association website, this year’s National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 7-13, campaign, “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” is about educating people on the three basic but essential steps to take to reduce the likelihood of having a fire - and how to escape safely in the event of one:

LOOK

Look for places fire could start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.

LISTEN

Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.

LEARN

Learn two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.

Fire Prevention Week

Since 1922, the NFPA has sponsored the public observance of Fire Prevention Week. In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in this country.

During Fire Prevention Week, children, adults, and teachers learn how to stay safe in case of a fire. Firefighters provide lifesaving public education in an effort to drastically decrease casualties caused by fires.

Fire Prevention Week is observed each year during the week of Oct. 9 in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on Oct. 8, 1871, and caused devastating damage.

According to the website, his blaze killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres of land.

Bring awareness

While children under 5 and adults over 65 are at the highest risk for injury or death in a fire, people of all ages are vulnerable.

In fact, the risk of a nonfatal fire injury is highest for those between 20 and 49, showing that fire safety education is essential for everyone. Additional risk factors include race, socio-economic status, education level, and geographic location.

Fire Prevention Week provides awareness of the risk of death due to fire and provides educational resources to people of all ages, races and socioeconomic status to keep everyone safe.