Palmerton Area School District is joining the nation in observing “Fire Prevention Week,” a time Jason Behler compared to a “volunteer firefighter’s Christmas.”

The annual event, running Oct. 8-14 this year, aims to raise awareness and educate the public about fire safety and prevention. This year’s theme is “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen,” focusing on the importance of cooking safely and avoiding kitchen fires.

“This is our opportunity to interact with the youth of our area and just to really drive home the importance of this year’s theme, which is kitchen fire safety,” Behler, Palmerton Municipal Fire Company chief, said. “Not only are we trying to teach them how they can interact around a kitchen safely, but we’re giving them things that they can take home to their parents like making sure the cooktop is clear so nothing would catch fire around that.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries in the United States. Almost half of all home fires involve cooking equipment, and unattended cooking is the most common cause of these fires.

Members of the Towamensing Township Volunteer Fire Company visited Towamensing Elementary School on Wednesday to teach students about fire safety and show them the equipment and vehicles used by firefighters.

Kelli George, Towamensing Elementary principal, said that fire prevention education is extremely important for the students and their families.

“It’s important not just for the students’ safety, but for their whole family, no matter where they are, to know how important it is to be able to react in case of an emergency,” she said.

George also said that the visit from the fire department helped students feel more comfortable and familiar with firefighters.

“A big piece of this is that they’re not afraid of the firemen that come because that can be a very scary situation when they have their gear on,” she said. “This helps them feel comfortable and know that the fireman is there to assist and help them.”

Behler said he brought some of his junior firefighters to S.S. Palmer on Wednesday to help with the education process and hopefully inspire some future members.

“I think the big take-aways today are making sure the smoke detector works and anything related to the kitchen fire,” he said. “If for some reason you have some type of grease fire on the cooktop stove, we want to make sure you’re not putting it out with water but instead you’re either covering it with a lid or covering it with baking powder. The other points we want to get across to the students are having a fire extinguisher close by, testing the smoke detectors, making sure they know two ways out or having a meeting point just like they do here at school.”

Fire Prevention Week was established in 1922 by NFPA to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures, and burned more than 2,000 acres. The week is observed every year on the Sunday through Saturday period in which Oct. 9 falls.