Elementary learn about fire prevention
October is National Fire Prevention Month and Oct. 9-15 was Fire Prevention Week. In recognition of these annual events, several members of the Bancroft volunteer fire department recently visited elementary students at Bancroft-Rosalie.
In addition to that visit, students in the four-year-old preschool room got to talk to professional firefighters in Midwest City, Okla., via FaceTime.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on Oct. 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on Oct. 9, 1871.
According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow belonging to Mrs. Catherine O'Leary kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire. Recent research by Chicago historian Robert Cromie has helped to debunk this version of events.
Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.