VANCOUVER — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded the city of Vancouver’s Fire Marshal’s Office a $142,753 Fire Prevention and Safety grant. The grant will support the Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Project HomeSafe campaign to reduce the frequency and severity of residential fires through fire and life safety education and outreach.
“When people are hurt or killed in a fire it is usually at home,” said Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli. “Project HomeSafe is a strategic community outreach effort to reduce the top three avoidable causes of residential fires in Vancouver: cooking, smoking and candles.”
The city launched Project HomeSafe in 2015. Vancouver Deputy Fire Marshals and Fire Corps volunteers go door-to-door, showing residents simple ways to reduce the risk of home fires. Last year, the program reached more than 420 households.
FEMA’s Fire Prevention and Safety grants support projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related hazards. The primary goal is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations.
The mission of the City of Vancouver’s Fire Marshal’s Office is to protect life and property by preventing emergencies before they happen. This is done through education, enforcement of fire, building and life safety codes, investigation of fire causes and the application of adopted codes to construction projects. View a home fire prevention checklist at www.cityofvancouver.us/PreventHomeFires.
