It's Fire Prevention Week in Austin.

October 6-12 is the designated time to promote fire prevention and safety efforts everywhere.

And that's what Fire Chief Dan Wilson and Austin firefighters are doing.

According to Fire Chief Wilson, the Austin Fire Department will hold its annual open house 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Austin Fire Station.

A special feature of this year's Fire Prevention Week activities are free movies, beginning 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Paramount Theatre.

The free movies feature fire prevention advice and local firefighters are circulating tickets in schools this week, according to Wilson. Also, there will be free popcorn Wednesday night at the theatre.

If there is one thing that irritates the fire chief, it's discovering homes without smoke alarms, he said.

That occurred again on the eve of the annual October Fire Prevention Month publicity blitz.

"I heard from a third grade teacher just the other day, who said seven of her students don't have smoke alarms," Wilson said. "Another third grade teacher, said three of her students didn't have the alarms. I'm really surprised, because of what we've been doing the last few years."

The reason for the fire chief's irritation and disbelief is an aggressive campaign conducted by the Austin Fire Department to make smoke alarms available free of charge to families.

The Mower County chapter of the American Red Cross embarked on its own "Smoke Busters" campaign with individual townships to ensure rural residents also had access to free smoke alarms. Wilson assisted the Red Cross chapter and townships in that campaign.

Meanwhile, Austin Fire Department firefighters lecture students whenever they visit schools about the availability of free smoke alarms for their homes.

Wilson also said, "Our firefighters will even go into the homes and install the smoke alarm to ensure they are working properly. They do it all."

This year's October Fire Prevention Week campaign takes on an even more serious tone with the news from the State Fire Marshall's office that a final report on the Sept. 5 fire and explosion at Hormel Foods Corporation's Austin plant will be released soon.

Five people were injured when multiple fires and explosions erupted in the early morning hours of Sept. 5 in the grinder room at the Austin plant.

The emergency tested the skills of local firefighters in yet another way.

Firefighters also face new dangers with the discovery of highly-volatile methamphetamine labs in homes.

A 42-year old Austin man was killed when drug-makers attempted to dump their chemicals down a basement drain at a southwest Austin residence in January 2001 and a fire-explosion erupted, severely burning the deceased and another man at the scene.

But fire emergencies happen almost all the time, according to the fire chief.

A house fire occurs every 1 1/2 minutes in the U.S., someone dies in a house fire in the U.S. every 2 1/2 hours and nearly half of all candle fires in homes start in the bedroom, Wilson said.

Wilson and other Austin firefighters know these facts and offer fire safety tips.

Here are their recommended safety tips for all families to heed:

n Develop and practice a home fire safety escape plan.

n Hunt for possible home hazards and remove them from the residence.

n Have a working smoke alarm in the home.

For more information about fire safety, call the Austin Fire Department at 433-3405 or visit the Austin Fire Station during Wednesday's open house.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at :mailto:lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com