Saline, Pittsfield Fire Departments Hold Sunday Open Houses

Local fire departments are marking the beginning of national fire prevention week with tours of the firehouse, demonstrations and safety tips Sunday afternoon.

The and will each hold an open house from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

In Saline, the department will offer tours of the firehouse, show kids the fire trucks, and provide safety lessons in smoke house.

"Kids love coming to the firehouse and seeing all of the trucks and the gear. But we're also teaching fire safety prevention lessons, too," said Saline Fire Chief Craig Hoeft.

The department will also serve cider and doughnuts.

The Pittsfield department will demonstrate technical rescue, kitchen safety, fire equipment and more. One of the popular demonstrations is the smokehouse, where children learn how to navigate to safety in a smokey environment. There will also be demonstrations from the University of Michigan's Survival Flight.

The Pittsfield Township Fire Department is partnering with the National Fire Protection Association on a public awareness campaign focusing on the leading cause of home fires — cooking, heating and electrical equipment, candles and smoking materials.

“In 2009, 2,565 people died in home fires. Nearly all of these deaths could have been prevented by taking a few simple precautions like having working smoke alarms and a home fire escape plan, keeping things that can burn away from the stove and always turning off space heaters before going to bed,” said Pittsfield Fire Chief Sean Gleason. “Fire is a dangerous opponent, but by anticipating the hazards, you are much less likely to be one of the nearly 13,000 people injured in home fires each year.”

Gleason urged families to develop escape plans and to equip homes with smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers.