NFPA announces theme for Fire Prevention Week

July 24, 2023

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has sponsored Fire Prevention Week since 1922. The public health education campaign is observed annually the week of October 9th in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that killed over 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed over 17,000 buildings, and burned 2,000 acres of land.

Fire Prevention Week is October 8-14, 2023 and this year's theme is “Cooking safety starts with YOU. Pay attention to fire prevention TM.”

According to the NFPA news release, cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries in the United States. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of cooking fires and deaths.

“Year after year, cooking remains the leading cause of home fires by far, accounting for half (49 percent) of all U.S. home fires,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of outreach and advocacy at NFPA in the FPW press release. “These numbers tell us that there is still much work to do when it comes to better educating the public about ways to stay safe when cooking.”

Find Fire Prevention Week resources and get an early start on planning your department's FPW efforts.