Inside MOHAI, kids can talk with firefighters about their jobs today, and enjoy firefighter story times and fire safety activities. Also on view is the Great Seattle Fire exhibit which includes the infamous glue pot that supposedly started the massive blaze.

During October, MOHAI educators, in partnership with the Seattle Fire Department, will be offering an elementary classroom program: Cracking the History Code: Lessons of the Great Seattle Fire. Registration is available at www.seattlehistory.org.

For a complete schedule of Seattle Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Month activities, including Firefighter Story Times at Seattle Public Libraries, visit www.seattle.gov/fire

The Seattle Fire Department will gather on Friday, October 2 at 9 a.m. in Occidental Park to honor more than 100 firefighters from the United States and Canada who died in the line of duty in the past year. The local ceremony coincides with the 28th Annual National Fallen Firefighter Memorial weekend held at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. On this weekend, firefighters from around the country pay tribute to those courageous firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The event will take place in front of the Seattle Fallen Firefighters Memorial, which pays tribute to all 37 firefighters who have died in the line of duty since the Department began in 1889. The memorial was inspired by the four Seattle Firefighters who died in the 1995 Mary Pang Warehouse Fire.

Rich in firefighter tradition, the ceremony will begin and end with the presentation of colors by the Walter Kilgore Memorial Honor Guard. The Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums band will play several musical selections and Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean will speak, along with Local 27 President Kenny Stuart and Fire Department Chaplain Joel Ingebritson. The public is welcome to attend the ceremony.

The Seattle Fire Department Public Education Unit organized a smoke alarm canvas event at a mobile home park near Haller Lake earlier this month. Firefighters from Fire Station 24 and Spanish speaking volunteers from the Red Cross went door-to-door installing smoke alarms and handing out fire safety information. Thirty-three homes received new smoke alarms.

Seattle homeowners can contact the Seattle Fire Department Public Education Office at 206.386.1337 to see if they qualify for a free smoke alarm installation. To learn more about smoke alarms visit: http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubEd/smokealarms/smokeAlarms.htm.

Lessons of the Past & Present: What the Great Seattle Fire can teach us about fire safety today.

Hosted by the Musuem of History and Industry on Friday, October 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• Tour antique fire trucks
• Talk with firefighters and learn about their jobs today
• Arson dog demonstrations
• Firefighter story times
• Fire safety activities for kids
• Seattle Fire Department history
• Tour the Great Seattle Fire exhibit
• FREE ADMISSION- Bring your families!

Firefighter Story Times and The Seattle Public Library

Firefighters read fire safety stories to preschoolers at local library branches throughout the month.

Thursday, October 1
Central Library @ 10:30 AM
With Fire Chief Gregory Dean

Friday, October 2
Museum of History & Industry @ 10:30

Wednesday, October 7
Capital Hill Branch @ 10:30 AM
With Fire Marshal Chief John Nelsen

Thursday, October 8
University Branch @ 10:30 AM

Wednesday, October 14
High Point Branch @ 3:00 PM

Thursday, October 15
Lake City Branch @ 10:30 AM
Fremont Branch @ 11:00 AM

School Programs and the Museum of History and Industry: Cracking the History Code: Lessons of the Great Seattle Fire

• Offered throughout the month of October
• Facilitated by museum educators and the Seattle Fire Department
• To register: www.seattlehistory.org

Nationally, over 20% of homes do not have working smoke alarms and most deaths caused by fire happen in homes without working smoke alarms. A working smoke alarm can cut the risk of death by half in a residential fire.

Seattle homeowners who do not receive a visit from the Seattle Fire Department on September 12 can contact the Seattle Fire Department Public Education Office at 206.386.1337 to see if they qualify for a free smoke alarm installation. To learn more about smoke alarms visit: http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubEd/smokealarms/smokeAlarms.htm.

Mayor Greg Nickels, along with City Councilmember Jean Godden, Fire Chief Gregory Dean, Fleets and Facilities Director Brenda Bauer, firefighters assigned to Engine 38 and members of the community today broke ground for the new Fire Station 38 in the Hawthorne Hills neighborhood. The current facility, built in 1930, is the smallest among Seattle’s 33 neighborhood fire stations.

Funded by the 2003 Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy program, the new station is one of 18 Fire Levy projects. Replacing the old Fire Station 38 is an important step towards bringing Seattle’s fire facilities into the 21st century.

The new, larger station will meet current seismic code — and provide the space necessary for modern equipment and operational requirements. The replacement station is designed to withstand an earthquake and allow firefighters to provide critical services to the community.

Fire Station 38, located at 5503 33rd Avenue NE, houses Engine 38. In 2008, Engine 38 went on more than 1,781 alarms. The new station, located seven blocks east of the current station at 4004 NE 55th Street, will more than triple in size, expanding from 2,568 square feet to 8,328 square feet.

Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean and firefighters who work on Engine 35 at Friday's ground breaking celebration.

Fire Chief Gregory Dean and Fleets and Facilities Director Brenda Bauer, along with firefighters who work on Engine 35 celebrated the beginning of construction for Fire Station 35 in the Crown Hill neighborhood. The 89-year-old facility is one of the oldest operating fire stations in Seattle.

The new, larger fire station is designed to withstand an earthquake so that firefighters can respond when the community needs them most. The new station will also provide the space required for modern equipment and operations, including decontamination space so firefighters can remove toxic materials from their gear when they return from fire and medical calls. The new station will expand from one story to two and will have an additional 2,000 square feet of space. Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months. During construction Engine 35 will respond to emergencies out of a temporary station located at 9089 Holman Road N.W.

Camp Blaze instructors volunteer their time and include about 60 professional female firefighters from Seattle, Tacoma, Texas, Maryland, Arizona, Virginia and California. Nearly 50 people from the Seattle Fire Department volunteered their time to help give the young women experience with live fire training, aerial ladder climbing, rappelling, hose handling and search and rescue. The camp took place at the Washington State Patrol Training Academy in North Bend.

For more information on Camp Blaze visit www.campblaze.com.

A professional firefighter and instructor at Camp Blaze helps a camper properly fit her mask.

Campers use the skills they've learned to put out a car fire.

On Friday, July 17, firefighters from Engine 29 in West Seattle were at Alki Beach handing out Safety Citations to children who were properly wearing their helmets. Each citation entitles the child to a free child-size sandwich at participating Subway locations. The program will continue through the summer at Fire Stations throughout the City. The goal of the program is to reduce the incidence of childhood head injuries.

According to the National SAFE Kids Coalition, head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of bicycle-related death and permanent disability. Head injuries account for more than 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths, more than two-thirds of bicycle-related hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits for bicycling injuries. The single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet.

Firefighters from Engine 29 help a child adjust her helmet.

Children riding any kind of wheels should be wearing helmets!