Emergency fire calls decrease in Chapel Hill

Emergency fire calls in Chapel Hill are on the decline — and officials hope to keep it that way.

National Fire Prevention Week kicked off Sunday, and the Chapel Hill Fire Department plans to use the time to teach residents how to better protect their homes and families from fire.

The department responded to 2,048 emergency fire calls between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011, compared to 2,150 for the same period the year before.

The cost of fire damage has also declined — falling 62 percent from more than $2.3 million last year to just less than $900,000.

Dace Bergen, an assistant fire marshal with the department, said fire education could be responsible for this decrease.

And further increasing awareness will be this week’s focus.
The town has participated in the National Fire Prevention Week since its 1922 inception, Bergen said.

“As time has progressed, our department has tried to do more and more creative things to reach more and more people to spread the fire safety messages,” he said.

This year the events include a puppet show, called “Johnny Joins the Fire Department”, trips to visit schools, workshops and fire station tours.

“We go to a variety of venues and just preach fire safety messages,” Bergen said.

Some of those messages include the importance of sprinklers and fire alarms in residences.

The National Fire Prevention Agency reports that 80 percent of all structure fires and 85 percent of fire deaths occur at home.

The agency states that homes with sprinklers have an 83 percent lower death rate and are 71 percent less damaged than homes without sprinklers.

The department also encourages fire alarms to prevent deaths.

Close to two-thirds of home fire deaths were in homes that did not have a fire alarm or had a faulty alarm, according to the NFPA.

Ranging from planning evacuations to monitoring smoke detectors, Chapel Hill residents said they protect themselves from fires in different ways.

“When I was little my parents told us an escape route,” said Hannah Jessen, a student at UNC.

Doug Ferguson, another student who lives on campus, said he does several things to prevent fire.

“We have fire alarms, we don’t smoke in the house, and we turn the oven off,” Ferguson said.

Bergen said residents should take precautions like not to leaving food cooking or leaving open flames, like candles and incense, unattended to prevent home fires.

Simple things like not overloading electrical circuits and investigating burning smells are other ways residents can help prevent fires, he said.

Bergen said by becoming educated and being vigilant, Chapel Hill residents can prevent fire.

“Be aware,” he advised.

Contact the City Editor at city@dailytarheel.com.