Brewton Fire Department personnel will be working a little extra this week in an effort to spread the word about preventing fires.

Brewton Fire Chief Lawrence Weaver said one week each year is set aside to bring special attention to fire prevention and safety.

“We do as much as we can every day to teach people how to prevent fires,” Weaver said. “Even though people are careful, there is always a chance of an accidental fire taking place. We work at ways to teach safety in the event of a fire as well.”

National Fire Prevention Week is set for Oct. 4 -8 and will be recognized by fire departments and safety personnel across the country. With safety and prevention as the No. 1 goal of the observation week, Weaver said his department will be continuing their efforts as teachers in the community.

“We have been providing smoke alarm information and installations throughout the city for sometime now,” Weaver said. “We will continue to do that where it’s needed. We’ve already provided thousands of smoke alarms for residents in this community. We are happy to do that for our citizens.”

Weaver said department personnel are available to go to the homes of city residents to assist with installing smoke alarms or simply to change the alarm batteries.

“It’s difficult for some people to take care of that job,” Weaver said. “If someone has working smoke alarms in their home, the chance of them being injured in a fire is reduced greatly. Having that alarm as an early warning of a fire in the home can also cut down on the damage caused by the fire with a quick call to the fire department.”

Weaver said the weeklong observation will end with a special event on Saturday, Oct. 9.

“We are happy to bring this event to a close with our special presentations,” Weaver said. “We will have something there for the children and some interesting things for adults as well.”

Weaver said during the Saturday wrap-up, 60 child car booster seats will be available on a first come, first served basis.

“We will have personnel there to install those boosters seats for those who get there in time to get one,” Weaver said. “We would love to have one for everyone, but we only have 60 and when they are gone, they are gone.”

In addition to the booster seats, Sparky, the firedog, will be on hand to greet children. An inflatable jump house will also be set up and families can take a tour of the department’s smoke house.

The wrap-up celebration for National Fire Prevention Week will be held in the Marvin’s parking lot on Douglas Avenue from 9 a.m. to noon.

For more details on fire prevention, safety education or celebration week events, contact the Brewton Fire Department at 867-7165.