WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — Washington Court House Fire Department crews spent this week delivering fire safety materials to kindergarten through fifth-grade students at seven schools and child care centers across Fayette County, timed to arrive just ahead of National Fire Prevention Week.
Firefighters visited students at Miami Trace Local School District, Fayette Christian School, Washington Court House City Schools’ Belle Aire and Cherry Hill elementary buildings, the Fayette County Early Learning Center, The Gathering Place and Grace Preschool & Childcare, the department said in a Facebook post.
The materials teach children what to do when a smoke alarm sounds, how and when to call 911, and how to map two ways out of every room in their home. They are designed to be carried home in backpacks and spark conversations at the kitchen table, the department said.
None of the outreach was paid for with tax dollars. Every piece of material was purchased through local citizens, businesses and organizations that donate each year through the National Fire Safety Council, and that money stays in Fayette County, the fire department said.
The National Fire Safety Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed in 1979 that distributes fire and burn prevention educational materials exclusively through local fire departments nationwide. The organization says it supplies roughly 1,000 fire departments with more than 4 million pieces of safety material each year, much of it featuring its mascot, Firepup, and reaches more than 1 million school-age children annually through in-school programs.
The timing lines up with National Fire Prevention Week, which begins Sunday and runs through Oct. 10. The National Fire Protection Association’s 2026 campaign, themed “Charge Into Fire Safety: Safe Charging Is a Superpower,” focuses on the safe charging and storage of lithium-ion batteries in phones, laptops, e-bikes and other devices, a growing cause of home fires.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Washington Court House Fire Department.
