The month of October is National

Fire Safety Month. For most, it

is a time to learn new things that

help keep ourselves and others a little

safer, but for the men and women of the

Camp Arifjan Fire Department, the act of

practicing fire safety is business as usual.

The fire prevention team, which

occupies half of Fire Station number

one here, is in charge of maintaining,

installing and updating safety devices

such as sprinkler systems, alarms,

safety lights and fire exits. They also

take on the important job of educating

Servicemembers and civilians on proper

fire safety and prevention.

"The Fire Warden/Electrical Safety

Course, held every Friday, is one thing

we are doing to help minimize fires and

get the word out," says Charles Coffman,

Fire Inspector and Fire Plans Examiner

at Station One. "The fire safety wardens

are the eyes and ears in the building they

work and live," he said.

The class, which trains designated

Fire Wardens from each unit or building,

provides the fire warden with detailed

information, checklists and education on

preventing the most common causes of

fire in theater.

Another aspect of fire preventions job

is to identify the causes or potential risks

of common fires.

"Electrical hazards are by far the

biggest concern we have here," said

Coffman. "Well over 95 percent of the

fires in theater are electrical."

With so many types of electrical

outlets and plugs, it is important for

Servicemembers to be aware of the

voltage capacities of electronics and not

overload power strips, which is a big

concern. Many higher voltage electronics

such as microwaves, coffee pots and

refrigerators need to be plugged directly

into wall outlets to avoid power overload.

It is also important for those who

smoke to use proper smoking areas, and

to extinguish cigarettes in a safe location.

"The high temperatures in the summer

are a big factor in the fire situation here,"

said Coffman. "A discarded cigarette can

easily ignite dry wood chips or pallets."

A recent project conducted by the

fire prevention team involved updating

a helicopter maintenance facility with

new fire safety equipment. This included

a fire control panel that allows the fire

department to be alerted of the exact

location of the fire in the building. "It's

a vast improvement over the previous

method of going through the building

looking for the fire," said Coffman.

These improvements can be life-saving

in a dangerous situation. The fire system

is maintained by Senior Fire Technician

Ninan Joy and his team who keep the

equipment up and running properly.

With so many Servicemembers and

civilians coming and going, keeping

everyone informed is a constant challenge

for the Fire Prevention team. Therefore,

it is everyone's responsibility to practice

good fire prevention whenever possible.

With everyone's help, we can work to

reduce the number of injuries and loss of

equipment due to fires.