Holiday Fire Safety Series Kicks Off with Lunar New Year Presentations

(Above) Fire Safety Education Instructor Lieutenant Jeffery Scherer and FDNY Asian Outreach Coordinator David Lin join Mott Street Senior Center’s Director Ms. Suzanne Yuen and Ms. May Cheung Center to share fire safety education tips with guests.

With support from the FDNY Foundation, the FDNY Fire Safety Education Unit (FSEU) is bringing fire and life safety education to cultural events throughout the City in 2017. Recognizing the increase in cooking and use of electrical outlets during many holidays, the FSEU and the FDNY Office of Community Affairs are developing a full calendar of fire safety outreach events that correspond with major holidays.

The 2017 calendar kicks off with the Lunar New Year, commonly known as the Chinese New Year. This year the Lunar New Year begins on Saturday, January 28^th and is marked with traditional ceremonies, parades and parties. The first fire safety education event was held on Friday, January 13^th at Mott Street Senior Center in Manhattan. More than 140 people attended, receiving practical tips on kitchen and cooking safety; smoke/CO alarm awareness; and candle safety.

Socially and culturally-relevant fire safety education is critical to fire prevention and one of many initiatives funded by the FDNY Foundation. The FDNY Foundation and the FSEU aim to saturate communities with fire safety awareness. Our educational work is extensive and includes targeted, year-round outreach to high fire-risk neighborhoods and populations, free CPR training, the National Fire Prevention Week block party series and the Fire Zone’s daily programming in Rockefeller Center.

All Lunar New Year safety education presentations are open to the public and will have translators on hand. Other presentations taking place in January include:

• Tuesday, January 17^th
  10am-12pm
  Asian Senior Day Care Corp
  6506 Bay Parkway, Brooklyn NY, 11201

• Wednesday, January 18^th
  12-2pm
  Brooklyn On Fun Association
  5615 8^th Avenue, Brooklyn NY, 11220

• Thursday, January 19^th
  11am-12pm
  Chinese American Social Service Center
  124 Avenue O, Brooklyn NY, 11204

Remember these important rules when cooking:

• Stay in the kitchen. Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Wear short or tight-fitting sleeves. Long sleeves are more likely to catch on fire or get caught on pot handles.
• Keep children and pets away from the stove and open flames.
• Keep the area around the stove clear of towels, papers, potholders and anything that can burn.
• Keep a pot lid nearby to smother a pan fire. Do not attempt to pick up the pot or pan. Shut off the heat and cover the fire with a lid.
• In the event of a fire, do not use water. It will cause splashing and spread the fire.
• Treat burns immediately with cool running water.

For FDNY fire and life safety education publications:

• In English
• In Other Languages

For more information about fire safety outreach initiatives, please e-mail info@fdnyfoundation.org.