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MFD kicks off Fire Prevention Week

Photo by Karin Elton Brian Swalboski shows Park Side kindergartners the different parts of a fire truck such as the air tanks Friday morning at the fire station. Swalboski was one of many Marshall firefighters who gave tours Friday.

MARSHALL — Marshall firefighters had the full attention of Marshall kindergartners Friday during the annual visit of the fire station. The kindergartners were shown some of the parts of a fire truck and got to go inside a truck as well.

The event kicked off Fire Prevention Week, which is Oct. 6-12.

“Not every hero wears a cape. Plan and practice your escape” is the theme this year. Quentin Brunsvold, Marshall fire chief, is asking Marshall residents to practice E.D.I.T.H. which stands for Exit Drills In The Home. He advises families to practice the safest way out of the home in case of a fire and to make sure everybody knows where the safe meeting place is. After participating in this drill, families should turn on their outside lights to show the fire department that they practiced the drill.

“Every year we enjoy driving around the city in the evening with our emergency lights on and look forward to observing how many of you have practiced,” said Brunsvold in a recent newsletter. “We start driving around at 7 p.m. It would be nice to see 100% of the houses in the city participate in this potentially lifesaving drill.”

Another potentially lifesaving measure is the use of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the home.

Brunsvold said those detectors don’t last forever.

“Your smoke detectors have a life expectancy of 10 years and your carbon monoxide detectors have a life expectancy of five years,” he said. “There should be a date code on the back of every detector to tell you the ‘born on’ date.”

Brunsvold advised the public to test detectors monthly, change batteries every six months and replace detectors as needed.

The Marshall Fire Department gets much of its equipment through donations, Brunsvold said.

“A portion of the equipment that we operate and use is funded solely by the generous donations from community members and local businesses,” he said. “Equipment in the fire service evolves rapidly. With your generous donations from last year, we were able to purchase ice/cold water rescue suits and the essential equipment to safely and effectively extricate victims from the dangerous situations.”

The MFD is working on gathering funds this year for equipment for a tactical rescue team to be able to rescue victims from difficult situations and dangerous places.

The Marshall Fire Department currently has a staff comprised of 42 firefighters including three assistant chiefs, four captains and four lieutenants to help lead firefighters during training and incidents.

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