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Fire Safety Week

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The City of Greenwood will host our Annual Fire Department Open House in October each year at Fire Station 1 (909 S. Main St).  The Open House event is hosted each year in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week.

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, 1871.

Those who survived the fire never forgot what they'd been through; the blaze produced countless tales of bravery and heroism.  The fire also changed the way firefighters and public officials thought about fire safety. On the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America (today known as the International Fire Marshals Association), decided that the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire should be observed not with festivities, but in a way that would keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention. 

In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed.  According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance every year since 1925.  Each year has its own fire prevention theme. 

This is truly a community event involving the City of Greenwood Police Department, Greenwood County Sheriff’s Department, Greenwood County EMS, SC Highway Patrol, SC Department of Natural Resources and others. 

For additional information, please contact the City at (864) 942-8445.

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