It’s Fire Prevention Week: Look. Listen. Learn.

National 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 Oct. 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on Oct. 9, 1871.   

According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow - belonging to Mrs. Catherine O'Leary - kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire. Chances are you've heard some version of this story yourself; people have been blaming the Great Chicago Fire on the cow and Mrs. O'Leary, for more than 130 years. But recent research by Chicago historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk this version of events.  

In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which Oct. 9 falls. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.   

How can you prevent fires? The National Fire Protection Association offers some basic tips: 

• Watch your cooking. Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you must leave - even for a short time - turn off the stove. 
• Give space heaters space. Keep fixed and portable space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn. Turn off heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep. 
• Smoke outside. Ask smokers to smoke outside. Have sturdy, deep ashtrays for smokers.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach. Keep matches and lighters up high, out of reach of young children, preferably in a cabinet with a child lock. o Inspect electrical cords. Replace cords that are cracked, damaged, have broken plugs, or have loose connections. 
• Be careful when using candles. Keep candles at least one foot from anything that can burn. Blow out candles when you leave the room or go to sleep. 
• Have a home fire escape plan. Make a home fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year. 
• Install smoke alarms. Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Interconnect smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound. 
• Test smoke alarms. Test smoke alarms at least once a month and replace batteries once a year or when the alarm “chirps” to tell you the battery is low. Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old. 
• Install sprinklers. If you are building or remodeling your home, install residential fire sprinklers. Sprinklers can contain and may even extinguish a fire in less time than it would take the fire department to arrive. 

For more information, visit the NFPA's website.