Be Safe, Be Seen on Halloween!

Halloween night in Forest Grove is always a fun and enjoyable experience. Thousands of ghouls and goblins flock to the downtown area to trick or treat the merchants, visit the "Hall - O - Safe" at Pacific University, or flood local sidewalks in search of the sugary goodness that fills the orange plastic pumpkin buckets. At the same time it can be a stressful night for drivers as they try and negotiate traffic filled roads at night, in who knows what kind of weather, with all of these "new" pedestrians hitting the streets and sidewalks. According to the child injury prevention group Safe Kids USA, twice as many kids are killed while walking on Halloween than the other 364 days in a year, so can parents do to prevent this tragedy from happening to their little ones? It really all starts with being seen on Halloween!


1. Choose light colored costumes that can be seen in the dark.

2. Consider adding reflective materials to your child's costume. Simple reflective decals can be found at craft stores, or talk to your local fabric shop about reflective material that can be sewn onto your child's costumes. It is amazing how bright these reflective strips are when headlights shine on them.

3. Have your children carry flashlights and glow sticks with them at all times, even if it is still daylight when they start.

4. Walk on sidewalks or established paths, never walk in the street and only cross at marked cross walks with traffic lights. Always look both ways when you cross the street and walk, don't run.

5. Help your kids slow down, it is so easy for them to be excited and rush from place to place, but teaching them to slow down and be alert of what is around them will help them see cars that are backing up or turning.

6. For drivers please be safe, pay attention, slow down, and turn off all distractions. Do not eat or drink in the car, talk or text on the cell phone, and be extra vigilant of kids of all ages.

On Halloween night starting at 4:00 p.m. our firefighters will be in downtown Forest Grove passing out glow sticks to the trick or treaters so that they can be seen at Halloween, and don't forget that even though our Station 4 is off the beaten path downtown we still have candy and would love to have the kids trick or treat the fire station.

Be Safe, Be Seen at Halloween!

Fire Station Open House and Public Service Fair

Last Saturday, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue partnered with departments from all over the City of Forest Grove as well as our friends at the Washington County Sheriff's Office, Metro West Ambulance, and the Lifeflight Network when we hosted the annual Forest Grove Public Service Fair. This event started a few years ago as a way of expanding on the already popular fire prevention week fire station open house so that all public safety and city departments could showcase what they have to offer to the community.

Even though this event definitely catered to the younger at heart, there were still plenty of things to see and do and it was an excellent chance for a one stop shopping experience for everyone to get their questions answered about city services in Forest Grove. On hand during the event were representatives from the Forest Grove Library, Parks and Recreation, Water Department, Public Works, Police, and Light and Power departments. Outside of the umbrella of the City of Forest Grove we also had the Washington County Sheriff Crime Prevention Team, an actual ambulance and crew from the county's private ambulance provider Metro West Ambulance, as well as one of the helicopters from the Lifeflight Network landed at our heli-stop for a few hour visit during the event. Children were able to get rides on our fire engines, could walk inside any number of assorted vehicles from backhoes to helicopters and police cars, and our Light and Power Department would take those without a fear of heights up into the air on a bucket truck ride.

So far the fall weather has been fantastic in NW Oregon and we were lucky enough that it continued one more weekend as we were able to have a sun shine filled, comfortable open house. Combining the outstanding weather, and excellent assortment of things to do and see we think that this year was the best ever for our open house. It was hard to get a good count of attendees but we estimate that over 1,000 visitors came through our fire station for this year's event which was a few hundred more then our typical 500 to 700 guests. We are already planning for Open House 2011, so we hope to see all of you again next year.

It's Fire Prevention Week!

October 3 - 9 marks the annual week that the fire service declares as National Fire Prevention Week. Fire prevention week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire which occur ed started on October 8, 1871 which destroyed much of the city over the course of three days. The first fire prevention week was declared in 1925 by President Calvin Coolidge. Each year the fire service selects a theme so that firefighters all over the United States can remind their communities how to be safe from the perils of fire. This year the national theme is "Smoke alarms, a sound you can live with!"

In Forest Grove we actually take the entire month of October and work specifically with our elementary schools to start this safety message with our youngest audience. In the coming weeks our Fire and Life Safety Division will visit almost all of our K-4 schools in the coming weeks sharing safety information with the kids and answering their questions about firefighters and fire safety. All of this culminates with our annual Public Service and Safety Open House which will be held this year on Saturday October 16th at our Forest Grove Fire Station.

Smoke Alarms, a Sound You Can Live With Safety Tips

• Install smoke alarms inside each bedroom, in the hallway outside the bedrooms, and on each floor of the home. Avoid placing smoke alarms near kitchens and bathrooms where steam and smoke can cause frequent false alarms.
  
  
• Replace your smoke alarms every ten years.
  
  
• Test your smoke alarms monthly and practice a family fire drill when you do. Many kids do not know what to do when they hear their smoke alarm so they react by hiding instead of escaping the home. Teach your kids how to safely get out of the home and meet at the family emergency meeting place.
  
  
• Keep your smoke alarm clean by gently dusting or vacuuming it regularly, if it chirps consider replacing the battery or the entire alarm.