Fire Prevention Month and Poplar Bluff Firefighters

In observance of Fire Prevention Month, Poplar Bluff firefighters took time Wednesday morning to visit students at the First Baptist Church to demonstrate how they use the fire truck and some of the tools they use during emergency situations. During the month of October, the fire department has done fire alarm checks at area schools and daycares to ensure the safety of students and children. Since 1922, the National Fire Protection Association has sponsored National Fire Prevention Month, which is observed every year during the month of October, to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire. Many may remember the story from history class about the Great Chicago Fire, which broke out on Oct. 8, 1871, supposedly after a cow, kindly referred to as Daisy, kicked over a lantern while being milked and starting a fire in a barn belonging to the O’Leary family. The story of how the fire originated was later revised, but the blaze, which burned for two days, took about 300 lives and left 90,000 people without shelter, according to the NFPA.