Public Relations & Education

Township of Stafford Fire Department
Teams Up With State Farm^® and the National Fire Protection Association^® (NFPA^®) to Promote the Importance of Working Smoke Alarms

The official theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, October 6-12 is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you.™”

09/11/2024 – The Stafford Township Fire Department is teaming up with State Farm^® and the National Fire Protection Association^® (NFPA^®) to promote Fire Prevention Week™, October 6-12, and this year’s theme, “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you.™,” which aims to better educate the public about the critical importance of working smoke alarms. According to NFPA, working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a fire by more than half (54 percent).

“Smoke alarms alert people in time to escape a home fire safely, but they have to be working in order to protect people,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of Outreach and Advocacy at NFPA. “This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign highlights simple but critical steps people can take to ensure that the smoke alarms in their homes are installed, tested, and maintained properly.”

The majority of U.S. home fire deaths occurs in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

In coordination with NFPA, Heidi Michel of The Township of Stafford Fire Department and local State Farm agent Lisa Patchell are encouraging all residents to actively support this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign by testing all smoke alarms in the home, making sure they’re installed in all needed locations, and replacing them when they are 10 years old. In addition, Patchell recently donated a toolkit of Fire Prevention Week resources to the Township of Stafford fire department which includes activities and information for children and adults, providing age-appropriate messages about smoke alarms and other home fire safety and prevention resources.

“Helping people manage the risks of everyday life is a fundamental part of our mission," said Apsara Sorensen, assistant vice president of Corporate Responsibility at State Farm. "Through our collaboration with NFPA and local fire departments, we are actively working towards increasing awareness about fire prevention."

The Stafford Fire Department shared key messages for this year’s Fire Prevention Week theme, “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you.”:

Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area (like a hallway), and on each level (including the basement) of the home.
Make sure smoke alarms meet the needs of all family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.
Test smoke alarms at least once a month by pushing the test button.
Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or don’t respond when tested.

Fire Prevention Week is celebrated throughout North America every October and is the oldest U.S. public health observance on record. For more than 100 years, Fire Prevention Week has worked to educate people the risk of home fires and ways to minimize them. Local fire departments, schools, and community organizations play a key role in bringing Fire Prevention Week to life in their communities each year and spreading basic but critical fire safety messages.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, “Smoke alarms: Make them work or you!” visit fpw.org. Additional Fire Prevention Week resources for children, caregivers, and educators can be found at sparky.org and sparkyschoolhouse.org.

About State Farm:

For over 100 years, the mission of State Farm has been to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected and realize their dreams. State Farm and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United States. Its more than 19,400 agents and 67,000 employees serve over 91 million policies and accounts – including auto, fire, life, health, commercial policies and financial services accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 39 on the 2024 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com.

Lithium-Ion Battery Safety

Lithium-Ion batteries are becoming more common within different devices we use daily such as cell phones, laptops, various different electronic devices and even vehicles. These batteries are a great and efficient source of power, however, without being educated about them, you may end up in a bad situation. Using, charging or storing these batteries improperly may result in overheat, damage, fire or even explosion. The NFPA provides some great information and public education regarding lithium-ion batteries which can be seen below.

Visit NFPA.org for more information!

“Register Ready – New Jersey’s Special Needs Registry for Disasters” allows New Jersey residents with disabilities or access and functional needs and their families, friends, caregivers and associates an opportunity to provide information to emergency response agencies so emergency responders can better plan to serve them in a disaster or other emergency.

The information collected here is confidential and will not be available to the public. The information will be held securely and only used for emergency response and planning.