Bill Text: NY K00565 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim October 8-14, 2023, as Fire Prevention Week in the State of New York

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2023-05-30 - adopted [K00565 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-K00565-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 565

BY: M. of A. Zebrowski

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        October 8-14, 2023, as Fire Prevention Week  in  the
        State of New York

  WHEREAS,  This Legislative Body has the deepest pride and admiration
for the fire departments of New York State  which  perform  the  crucial
work of fire protection and fire prevention; and

  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern,  and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this  Legislative  Body  is  justly  proud  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to proclaim October 8-14, 2023, as
Fire Prevention Week in the State of New York, in conjunction  with  the
observance of National Fire Prevention Week; and

  WHEREAS,   National   Fire   Prevention   Week  was  established  to
commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871  conflagration  that
killed  more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than
17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres; it began on  October
8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871; and

  WHEREAS,  While  the  Great Chicago Fire was the best-known blaze to
start during this fiery two-day stretch, it was not  the  biggest;  that
distinction  goes to the Peshtigo Fire, the most devastating forest fire
in American history, which also occurred on October 8, 1871, and  roared
through  Northeast  Wisconsin,  burning  down  16  towns,  killing 1,152
people, and scorching 1.2 million acres before it ended; and

  WHEREAS, Those who survived the Chicago  and  Peshtigo  fires  never
forgot  what they had been through; both blazes produced countless tales
of bravery and heroism, but also changed the way firefighters and public
officials thought about fire safety; and

  WHEREAS, On the anniversary of the  Great  Chicago  Fire,  the  Fire
Marshals  Association of North America, today known as the International
Fire Marshals Association, decided that it should henceforth be observed
not with festivities, but in a way that would keep the  public  informed
about the importance of fire prevention; and

  WHEREAS,  The  commemoration  grew  incrementally  official over the
years; in 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National  Fire
Prevention  Day  proclamation,  and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has
been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9th
falls; and

  WHEREAS,  According   to   the   National   Archives   and   Records
Administration's  Library  Information  Center, National Fire Prevention
Week is the longest running  public  health  and  safety  observance  on
record;  the  President  of  the United States has signed a proclamation
declaring a national observance during that week every year since  1925;
and

  WHEREAS, During Fire Prevention Week, children, adults, and teachers
learn  how  to  stay  safe  in  case  of  a  fire;  firefighters provide

lifesaving  public  education  in  an  effort  to  drastically  decrease
casualties caused by fires; and

  WHEREAS,  Every  23  seconds, a fire department in the United States
responds to a fire somewhere in the nation; a fire occurs in a structure
at the rate of one every 64 seconds, and a home  fire  occurs  every  89
seconds; and

  WHEREAS, Fire departments responded to an estimated 1,388,500 fires,
in  2020;  these  fires  caused  an  estimated 3,500 civilian deaths and
15,200 civilian injuries; and

  WHEREAS, An estimated $15.9 billion in property damage occurred as a
result of fires in 2021; and

  WHEREAS, The 338,000 home structure fires,  which  includes  one-and
two-family  homes  and  apartments,  caused  2,840 civilian deaths; this
includes 2,440 civilian deaths in one- and two-family homes and  400  in
apartments   or  other  multi-family  housing,  including  condominiums;
furthermore, seventy-five percent of civilian fire deaths resulted  from
home fires; and WHEREAS It is imperative that there be greater awareness
of  ways  in  which  we can prevent loss of life and property from fire;
now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to proclaim October 8-14, 2023, as
Fire Prevention Week in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That a copy of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York.