WALHALLA FIRE ANNOUNCES ACTIVITIES FOR OCTOBER

The City of Walhalla Fire Department announces several activities for
the month of October.

October is National Fire Prevention Month. This year’s theme is “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen”. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states that; cooking is the number one cause of home fires and home fire injuries. Almost half (44%) of reported home fires started in the kitchen. Two-thirds (66%) f home cooking fires start with the ignition of food or other cooking materials.

We offer these important reminders:

  • never leave cooking food unattended, if you leave turn the stove off even for a
    short period of time;
  • be alert when boiling, frying, baking, roasting, and broiling; use oven mitts to move pots and pans and keep a lid close by to smother a small fire;
  • have a kid free zone of 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drinks are prepared or carried.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 and budgetary constraints there will be no live fire safety programs in areas schools or other venues this year.

Our annual “Boo in the Bay” will not be held this year either.

We invite everyone to participate in the Walhalloween activities on Main Street on Oct 31, 2020 from 10 AM-6 PM. This will be perfect for young children and pets to come out in costume and visit Main Street. Details on activities are pending and will be announced closer to the event date to make sure that they follow suggested public health recommendations.

The fire department will begin testing and flushing the more than 200 fire hydrants in and around Walhalla in October as well. This maintenance activity is necessary to ensure that hydrants produce the needed amount of water needed during a fire and to identify any problems. Additionally, this hydrant maintenance is required by the Insurance Service Office (ISO), the organization that sets property insurances rates based off fire safety rating. These tests help Walhalla maintain its city-wide ISO Class 2 Public Protection Classification rating.

Unfortunately, during flushing, there may be pressure drops and discoloration of water near areas where hydrants are being flowed. This is only temporary and is caused by running large amounts of water through pipes that may have not been used recently. Where there is discoloration, running the water for four to five minutes usually relieves the problem. The department recommends that citizens not wash clothes until the discoloration has cleared in an effort to prevent staining.

Hydrant flushing in the business district will be conducted after hours to reduce the effect on business and customers.

Walhalla Fire Department would also like to remind residents to replace their smoke detector batteries when the time changes. This year the clocks will roll back on November 1, 2020.

For more information on any of these items, please contact the City of Walhalla Fire Department at 864-638-4345.

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