New Martinsville Fire Department Fire Prevention

For more information about our Fire Prevention Program please E-Mail fireprevention@fdnm.org or click the "Request" link to the left

For home safety tips please click the link to the left

It has been said many times "that the most effective method of fighting fire is to prevent it from starting".  At the New Martinsville Fire Department we believe this mantra to be true.  For this reason we have great pride in both our investment in infrastructure and the time volunteered by our members.  Under the direction of Deputy Chief Joe Smith, our fire prevention program has grown over the years to a very polished and informative program.  In 2002 the New Martinsville Fire Department received the Gail Ash award from the West Virginia State Fire Commission for its efforts in its Fire Prevention Program.  This distinguished award is proudly displayed at our station 218.  Although Fire Prevention programs are held year round, October kicks of National Fire Prevention Month.  During this month, we conduct numerous programs at both our Steelton Station adjacent to the New Martinsville school and the Career Center off WV route 7. 

The key aspect of our fire prevention program is our Safety House.  Purchased in the middle 1990’s, the New Martinsville Fire Departments “Kids Safety House” is a fully mobile, self contained Fire and Life Safety demonstration tool.

The “Kids Safety House” is a 40’, 2-Story Trailer built by “Scotty” Trailer Manufacturing.  It features a living room area with a life like fire place and furniture, used to demonstrate the various common safety concerns in a normal residential setting, a fully operational kitchen used to demonstrate the various safety concerns in a homes primary cooking area.  There is a bedroom, where children a taught how to roll out of their bed’s onto the floor in case they wake to smoke or a sounding smoke alarm and a Porch on the second floor.

The entire safety house is plumbed for artificial smoke, wired with smoke detectors, and includes a control room from which you can see each of the rooms in the trailer for observing the students and monitoring all aspects of the educational experience.  There is also a “roll-out” canopy and built-in television screen for video screening of various fire and home safety videos.

It is estimated that since its purchase, there have been more than 15,000 children and adults put through the safety house.  The safety house is used most heavily in October during “National Fire Safety Month” when it visits the New Martinsville School, Early Start Programs and the Wetzel County Center for Children.  The Safety Trailer can also be seen at industrial Safety Carnivals, Farm Safety Programs, Retail Store Events, as well as various fairs and festivals.

         Firefighter Steve Bowman as "Firefighter Friend"   

Another event included in our Fire Prevention Program is called "Fire Fighter Friend".  During this presentation, children meet a firefighter wearing normal street clothes.  As the commentator  discusses the equipment that we use to stay safe in a hazardous environment, the firefighter begins to don all his equipment.  The goals for this program are listed below;

1.  We want to each children not to be scared of a firefighter in full turnout gear including a face mask and helmet.  The sights and sounds of an oncoming firefighter in a smoke filled area can be very freighting to kids.  On occasion, children have ran from firemen crawling through a smoke filled house as they became more scared of him than they did of the fire.  We want children to become accustomed to fireman in gear and learn to run to them and not away.

2.  Educating children on how to properly get the attention of a fireman in turnout gear is another important aspect to this program.  In some panic situations, people have been known to start pulling on different parts of the breathing apparatus including the face mask.  Obviously,  This could lead to the fireman losing his breathing capability and thwart the rescue attempt.  Teaching children to yell "help, help, over here" and tug on a fireman's arm and legs are both key points to this program.

The photographs below demonstrate the professional dedication of our members to providing the public with the best fire safety information possible.

Deputy Fire Chief, Joe Smith is demonstrating the dangers of fire on the departments “Midas Touch System”, and digital interactive display system that allows the children to make safe choices and decisions about common home safety and fire safety topics.
Fire Fighter, Linda Dulaney explains the various dangers faced by children in the fully functional “Kids Safety House”  kitchen.  She explains its not just the dangers of fire, but burns from spills and electrical hazards.
This photo in the doorway of the “Kids Safety House” demonstrates the trailers ability to simulate a real-fire situation with the greatest danger being smoke.  In the photo you can see that the more clear and fresh air is at the floor and that the density of the smoke increase with height.

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Copyright © 2008 New Martinsville Fire Department
Last modified: 01/04/09