Caleb Nickerson
SHAWVILLE Sept. 28, 2017
Every year on the week within which Oct. 9 falls, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) holds Fire Prevention Week, a campaign to educate the public on being prepared in case of an emergency.
The date commemorates the Great Chicago Fire, which killed 250 people and left hundreds of thousands more homeless in 1871. While many have heard of the fire in Chicago, a far more deadly blaze occurred on the exact same date in Wisconsin, burning down 16 towns and claiming 1,152 lives.

These disasters led fire chiefs and public officials in both the U.S. and Canada to rethink their fire safety strategies and raise citizen’s awareness about potential hazards.
One of the key ways to protect your family is to have working smoke detectors as well as planning multiple escape routes from each room in your home.
Another piece of equipment that can make all the difference is having a portable fire extinguisher handy.
Taylor Fire Extinguishers in Shawville sells and provides maintenance for these handheld devices, as they have since 1988. Owner Charles Taylor said that people should take the time to read the directions on their extinguishers thoroughly before they’re facing an emergency.
“The big thing is to make sure they’re maintained and make sure the pressure is up in the gauge,” he said. “I’m available for inspections or maintenance and we also have a really good fire department here in Shawville who go around and do inspections. That’s a really big help for people.”
“You’ve got to be inspected at least once a year and they have a maintenance check every six years and a 12 year hydrostatic test,” he continued.
A hydrostatic test puts the cylinder under higher pressure than it normally experiences to test for weak spots and pinhole leaks. Taylor said that residents should be inspecting the exterior of their extinguishers for wear and keep them hanging in a dry place to avoid corrosion.
“If you see rust spots on it, you can see that it’s been left in the weather,” he said. “Farmers sometimes run into trouble with them if they leave it on a barn floor instead of hanging them on a wall.”
Taylor recommends homeowners purchase an ABC-class extinguisher, which can be used on all types of fires.
“That’s most standard now, the most common,” he explained. “A is your typical combustibles, paper, wood, etc. A B-type fire is flammable fluids, grease, oil or whatever. A C-rating just means that it’s safe to use on an electrical fire.”