As part of its annual effort to promote Fire Prevention Week, which is Oct. 9-15, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) has teamed with Siemens to help prevent and protect against fires in residential, commercial and industrial settings. ESFI works to raise awareness of the necessary precautions that can help eliminate electrical fire hazards, while Siemens’ technology is at work every day prevents fires and other catastrophic events in our living and working environments.
“Many electrical fires can be prevented by following safe practices and by equipping the home and workplace with the safety devices required by the National Electrical Code,” said ESFI President Brett Brenner. "Siemens is on the cutting edge of developing safety products that provide critical safeguards from fires across residential, commercial, and industrial settings and we are thrilled to partner with them on this important effort.”
ESFI’s Fire Prevention Week infographic, "Prevention, It Saves Lives," helps identify and correct home fire and electrical hazards. Among the practical tips included is the recommended installation of arc-fault circuit interrupters, which are devices that can prevent half of the home electrical fires that occur in the United States each year.
“Fire protection touches every aspect of our daily lives, not just in our homes but where we work, send our children to school, visit while traveling or shop in our communities,” said Kevin Yates, president of Siemens Energy Management. “We’re proud to team with ESFI to help bring greater attention to how innovative technologies can protect lives every day on the manufacturing floor, mitigate the risk of devastating wildfires, enable quick building evacuation and defend against home electrical dangers.”
In industrial settings, aging infrastructure, rapid expansion and electrical equipment with widely varying design technologies increase the threat of arc flash and other fire safety hazards on plant floors. Siemens confronts this issue head on by designing power systems in industrial manufacturing environments need to perform safely and reliably to protect workers while helping maximize plant production.
In the event of a fire in a commercial building, Siemens provides technology to aid in faster evacuation. Partnering with Marvel Comics, Siemens will engage in Fire Prevention Week activities that highlight the importance its intelligent voice communication systems, which have been shown to help occupants evacuate three times more quickly over traditional alarm systems.
NFPA has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week since 1922. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation declaring a national observance during that week every year since 1925.
