FIRE IS A TOOL, NOT A TOY ...

There isn’t anyone alive today who remembers the “Great Chicago Fire” of 1871, and probably no one who remembers the Collinwood, OH, school fire of 1908! But, they are the reasons why fire-fighters observe the week of October 9th as *Fire Prevention Week*. Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. During this time, fire-fighters make time in their busy schedules to address the issues of fire prevention and fire safety with all of us.

The 1871 fire, fueled by the wooden construction of most buildings of the era, killed over 300 people, leveled 4 miles of the city, destroyed about 17,500 buildings, resulted in $192 million in damages, left about 100,000 people homeless and gave us the legend about Mrs. O'Leary’s cow kicking over a lantern. The school fire of 1908 didn’t provide any such legends; instead it took the lives of 172 students and 3 teachers.

So, at 10 AM on Thursday, October 2nd, firefighters in Toms River, NJ, kick-off their 2008 fire-prevention program with a visit to The Goddard School for Early Childhood Development on Route 70, Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} http://www.goddardschool.com/Schools/Toms-River-II-NJ/Schools.gspx , both in memory of these events and to engage the pre-school children in fire-safety lessons and activities. The firefighters will bring along their classic *Big, Red Truck* and fire-fighting apparatus to highlight the program.

“Our goal is simply to teach our children that fire is a tool, NOT a toy, and that they should work with their teachers and parents to make their home(s) safe from fire and other kinds of hazards,” says Ms. Dana Chibbaro (CQ), owner and operator of the school. "As the mother of two young children, myself, I understand the concerns parents have about their children, and nothing is more important to me and my staff than the health and safety of the children".

For more information about fire-safety and prevention, visit the National Fire Protection Association at: http://www.nfpa.org. For more information about The Goddard School, please call Dana Chibbaro at (732) 363-5530.