Fire Prevention Week Ad – October 1954

Did you know it's Fire Prevention Week 2024?

The annual public awareness campaign been observed during early October for decades, thanks to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). But how did the annual event get started, and why is it celebrated in October?

According to the NFPA website, "Since 1922, the NFPA has sponsored the public observance of Fire Prevention Week. In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in our country. During Fire Prevention Week, children, adults, and teachers learn how to stay safe in case of a fire. Firefighters provide lifesaving public education in an effort to drastically decrease casualties caused by fires.

"Fire Prevention Week is observed each year during the week of October 9th in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on October 8, 1871, and caused devastating damage. This horrific conflagration killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres of land."

And seventy years ago, this was the public service ad that appeared in the Journal on October 5, 1954 for the annual observance.

It's a nice, effective ad. 

What caught my attention is how the fireman is pointing to the reader (like Uncle Sam) and asking for help. It's the same basic gimmick I used to win the Lorain City Schools Fire Prevention Week poster contest (for my age group) in 1972. (I wrote about it back here.)

As usual it's interesting seeing who the ad sponsors were, 70 years ago. But it's all insurance companies, and sadly, I don't recognize a single one that's still around. 

Anyway, it's a good time to think about smoke alarms. That's the theme of Fire Prevention Week 2024: Smoke Alarms – make them work for you.

Here's the official 2024 NFPA video. Hey, good old Sparky the Fire Dog is in it!