Pacific Fire Protection District

Welcome to the new website for the Pacific Fire Protection District. We hope this resource will allow our citizens to learn more about the services we provide, our life safety initiatives, and how we protect our community. Feel free to email or call us at any time to let us know how we can better serve you.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2012

Missouri launches Web site to help Missourians be prepared for tornadoes and severe storms
Missouri StormAware Web site includes videos on sheltering and storm warning systems; stormaware.mo.gov also includes links to severe weather texting services to alert Missourians to severe weather in their area

JEFFERSON CITY – The State Emergency Management Agency today announced Missouri has launched a new Web site to help inform and prepare Missourians for severe weather. Stormaware.mo.gov includes detailed videos on how to take shelter in specific types of buildings, important information about tornado sirens and weather alert radios, and links to severe weather texting services that can alert people across Missouri to upcoming severe weather.

“We think Missouri StormAware will be a valuable tool to educate all Missourians about the steps they can take to help protect themselves from dangerous severe weather,” State Emergency Management Agency Director Paul D. Parmenter said. “We’re providing very specific information about the safest places in different types of buildings, pointing out the limitations of tornado sirens that people should be aware of, and directing Missourians to text messaging systems that provide severe storm warnings.”

The Missouri StormAware Web site shows how people can find the safest place to shelter in their house and the steps mobile home residents should take as soon as they move in to their residences. There’s also information for sheltering in schools, places of worship and other large gathering places. A video on tornado sirens and how they are used explains that they are designed to alert only people who are outdoors, and should not be relied upon while indoors. In another video, a National Weather Service meteorologist explains the importance of weather alert radios and recommends that every Missouri family have one in their home. 

An important feature of the StormAware site allows users to find text messaging services in their area that will allow them to get automatic text alerts whenever a severe storm warning is issued in their area. The services, which are not provided by the state of Missouri, are free, but normal text messaging rates will apply.

“We will also be adding additional content and we hope that Missourians will visit, sign up for text messaging alerts in their area, refer friends and relatives to the site and then check back periodically to learn more about being StormAware,” Parmenter said.

To explore Missouri StormAware and get helpful preparedness tips for your family, visit http://stormaware.mo.gov.

Ten-year Life of Smoke Alarms

Rick Friedmann, Fire Chief

Pacific Fire Protection District

Working smoke alarms detect and alert people to fire in its early stages, providing the warning needed to escape safely.  According to the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.  However, smoke alarms don’t work forever.

As Fire Chief of the Pacific Fire Protection District, I’m concerned that the presence of smoke alarms in the Pacific Fire Protection District residents’ homes (most U.S. homes have at least one) may give them a false sense of security.  Oftentimes, people don’t know how old their smoke alarms are, if they’re still functioning properly, or at all.  That lack of awareness can have deadly consequences: nearly two-thirds of all home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Smoke alarms more than 10 years old no longer offer a reliable level of safety.  The Pacific Fire Protection District urges all Fire District residents to determine how old their smoke alarms are.  (The date of manufacture is located on the back of the alarm.)  If they’re 10 years old or older, replace them immediately!  This includes smoke alarms that use 10-year batteries and/or are hard-wired.

In accordance with NFPA, the Pacific Fire Protection District offers the following recommendations for buying and installing smoke alarms:

·        Purchase combination smoke alarms or both ionization and photoelectric alarms.

·        Make sure smoke alarms have the label of a recognized testing laboratory.

·        Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.  (Some older homes may not have smoke alarms installed in bedrooms, but it’s important that these locations include them to provide adequate warning.)

Time and time again, the Pacific Fire Protection District has witnessed the life-saving impact of smoke alarms.  But we also know tragedy can result from smoke alarms that aren’t working properly.  We strongly encourage all Fire District residents to inspect their smoke alarms today, and to replace them, if necessary, as soon as possible.

If you have questions or concerns about smoke alarms and/or smoke alarm installation, please contact the Pacific Fire Protection District at the following numbers:

Pacific Station 1 at 636-257-4160

Pacific Station 2 at 636-257-2811

Or visit www.nfpa.org/smokealarms for more information.

The Pacific Fire Protection District applied and was awarded a grant from the ECMA Fire Grants in the amount of $15,845.00.  This grant is for the purchases and installation of ten-year battery operated smoke detectors into homes where the current smoke detectors were past the ten year life expectation or in homes that have no working smoke detectors at all.  Starting in mid-March the Pacific Fire Protection District will start a ten-year battery operated smoke detector installation program within the Pacific Fire Protection District.  The Fire District will be conducting a door-to-door campaign in our older subdivisions where we believe smoke detectors are past the ten-year life expectancy.

Captain Pete Gallagher has been a member of the Pacific Fire Protection District for 25 years and five months.  Captain Gallagher started as a volunteer firefighter with the Pacific Fire Protection District on May 28, 1986 and on January 6, 1991 was hired as a full-time firefighter/EMT with the District.  Captain Gallagher commenced his service with the District on October 31, 2011.  During that time frame he has been instrumental in getting countless projects completed within the Fire District, including writing Grant applications and Fire Prevention activities in the community.

On the evening of December 5, 2011 the District held a commemoration in honor of Captain Gallagher and his years of service with the District.