In the early days of America, firefighting relied entirely on people power. When a fire broke out, the community would form a line from their local water source and pass along buckets of water up the line to the fire to douse the flames, the Bucket Brigade. The task was slow, water was limited, and it was ineffective against large fires. By the 1800s, fire was a constant threat in densely populated cities with buildings made of wood with thatched rooftops.

The mid-1800s produced the first organized firefighting apparatus, the hand-pumped Fire Engine. It was a simple cart pulled by men or horses with a manual pump the firefighters would use to continuously spray water onto the fire to put it out. (In fact, you can see one at Niagara Hall in the nearby town of Millis.) But this too had its downfalls, as it required several firefighters to manually pump the water, relied on a nearby water source and had limited range and water pressure. At that time, the Chicago Fire Department had 185 firefighters with just 17 horse-drawn steam pumpers to protect an entire city with a population over 300,000! Chicago was unprepared for the horrors it would encounter due to this lack of fire protection.

Throughout the summer in 1871 Chicago had been hot, windy, and dry. That fall was particularly parched with intense winds whipping throughout the city. Chicago had been built with widespread use of wooden construction in its buildings, sidewalks, and streets, all made of pine. At the O'Leary homestead on the evening of October 8th a fire began in their small barn on West DeKoven Street. A lantern had been knocked over igniting the Great Chicago Fire. The fire quickly spread amongst the wooden structures into the urban and business districts of Chicago, becoming the most destructive urban disaster in American history. The fire had destroyed over 3 square miles of the city decimating 17,500 buildings, leaving 100,000 residents homeless, and it was deadly. Although 150 bodies were recovered, the coroner determined over 300 citizens had perished, the other bodies incinerated.

On the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic fire, Fire Prevention Week was instituted in Chicago on October 8, 1872. (online sources: "The Great Chicago Fire of 1871," "Bucket Brigade," "The Great Chicago Fire," "Library of Congress").

The Fire Marshals Association of North America sponsored the first National Fire Prevention Day in 1911, the 40th anniversary of the fire. It was a day to keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention and its deadly consequences. In 1925 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week to be held from Sunday to Sunday during the week October 8th falls on in memoriam of the Great Chicago Fire.

Massachusetts initiated a statewide grant program in 1994 to give Firefighters the ability to teach fire safety education from Pre-K through High School and to Senior Citizens. It was dubbed S.A.F.E. or Student Awareness of Fire Education. In its first year, child fire deaths fell from 25 in 1994 to 12 the following year. Over the next 25 years child deaths declined by 78% including zero cases reported in 2020 with 383 children receiving the "Young Heroes" award for their use of classroom fire safety lessons.

The S.A.F.E. program instructs children on fire safety that empowers them to prevent fires, survive those that do occur, and respond correctly to fires and emergencies. Crucial components of the program include smoke alarm maintenance, home escape plans, how to crawl low under smoke, the Stop-Drop-Roll method, and match/lighter safety, along with kitchen fires and burn safety.

Doug Perro, a Firefighter-Paramedic with Group 2 of the Franklin Fire Department is our town's S.A.F.E. Officer who instructs students on fire safety and survival skills. For senior citizens, he inspects their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors replacing batteries if needed and will identify hazards in these elder residences. Doug also coordinates community outreach with local schools for student mentorship and training projects.

Firefighter Perro reminds us, "Fire Prevention Week starts October 4th this year." Its theme is "Charge into Fire Safety, Safe Charging Is a Superpower!" The theme addresses the fire risks and explosions of lithium-ion batteries.

If you would like to know more about the Massachusetts S.A.F.E. program contact the State at [email protected] . Locally you may contact S.A.F.E. officer Doug Perro at [email protected] or [email protected]