Proclamation 5535 --
Fire Prevention Week, 1986
By
the President of the
of
A
Proclamation
The
American people must redouble their efforts to prevent fires and their terrible
toll in human lives and the destruction of property. There are encouraging
signs: Today smoke detectors have been installed in 75 percent of American
homes. Our target is 100 percent. National public awareness campaigns have
prompted many families to plan and practice means of quick escape if fire
strikes in the home. Fire safety concepts, such as ``Stop, Drop, and Roll'' to
smother a clothing fire, are gaining currency. Many homes have installed sprinkler
systems to extinguish fires quickly, and more Americans are making it a
practice to keep fire extinguishers handy in the home, especially in the
kitchen, where many fires start. There is an increased awareness and avoidance
of such dangerous practices as smoking in bed, leaving matches where young
children can get at them, and overloading electrical circuits.
Despite
all these efforts, the annual deaths, injuries, and economic losses from fire
are still staggering. We cannot afford any letup in our efforts to prevent
fires.
The Federal Emergency
Management Agency and its United States Fire Administration are working with
all levels of government, the private sector, service organizations, and
volunteer groups to launch a national campaign to assure that every home in the
We
are very proud of, and grateful to, our Nation's fire fighters: the more than
one million men and women, both volunteer and career, who daily risk their own
lives to save the lives and property of others. Last year 122 fire fighters
gave their lives in the line of duty. They are true heroes to whom we owe a
lasting debt of gratitude. I am pleased to know they will be honored at the
National Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial Service at the
I
commend the many national, State, and local organizations whose dedicated
commitment to fire safety has done so much to reduce our Nation's fire losses
in the last decade, and I am grateful for the contributions of the National
Fire Protection Association, the originator of Fire Prevention Week, and I
congratulate this organization as it celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
Now,
Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, by
virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim the week beginning October 5, 1986, as Fire
Prevention Week, and I call upon the people of the United States to plan and
actively participate in fire prevention activities during this week and
throughout the year.
In
Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of September,
in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-six, and of the
Ronald
Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the
Federal Register,