Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 150
CHAPTER 83
Relative to Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness Week.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
August 21, 2012.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 150, Block.
Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness Week.
This measure would declare the week of June 4, 2012, to June 10, 2012, inclusive, as Fire Safety and Disaster Preparedness Week.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee:
NO WHEREAS, California is home to a myriad of disaster threats, such as fires, floods, mudslides, earthquakes, and terrorism; and
WHEREAS, Nearly every county in California faces the challenge of development encroaching on rural and wildland areas; and
WHEREAS, Some areas of the state must cope with multiple risks, including a network of fault lines that can produce earthquakes and tsunamis, heavy rains and coastal storms that create floods and mudslides, and volcanic activity from Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta; and
WHEREAS, An unprecedented increase in the number of wildfires since 2003 have claimed numerous lives, millions of square acres of property, and hundreds of homes; and
WHEREAS, Wildfires across the state have also destroyed precious infrastructure and threaten our environment; and
WHEREAS, Californians face innumerable fire and emergency threats within their own homes; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Emergency Management Agency reports that most Americans underestimate the risk of fire in their homes, and that many either lack emergency response plans or fail to practice them; and
WHEREAS, Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms are key to reducing fire deaths and injuries, and diminish the chances of dying in a fire by one-half; and
WHEREAS, The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that between 2005 and 2009, almost two-thirds of all home fire deaths in the United States resulted from fires in homes without smoke alarms or working smoke alarms; and
WHEREAS, Smoke alarm failure is usually caused by missing, disconnected, or dead batteries; and
WHEREAS, Carbon monoxide (CO), often called the silent killer, is an invisible, odorless, and colorless gas created by burning fuels like gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane; and
WHEREAS, Cooking or heating equipment that burns these fuels are potential sources of CO in the home, while the vehicles or generators that run in attached garages can also produce dangerous levels of CO; and
WHEREAS, The NFPA reports that in 2005, fire departments in the United States responded to an average of seven calls per hour involving nonfire incidents where CO was detected; and
WHEREAS, The United States Fire Administration reports that residential clothes dryers annually account for more than 15,000 structure fires, 15 deaths, 400 injuries, and $100 million in property damage, and many fire officials believe that these statistics are drastically understated due to data reporting deficiencies; and
WHEREAS, There is little doubt that fire is as powerful as any other force in the natural world and, as such, deserves our utmost attention and commitment to educating the public on the critical importance of fire and disaster preparedness, whether these emergencies are natural or manmade, or occur inside or outside the home; and
WHEREAS, The California Fire Foundation was formed in 1987 as a way to recognize the courage of firefighters and the perseverance and sacrifice of fire victims; and
WHEREAS, Today, the Foundation’s mandate includes an array of public education and victim assistance projects, including educating the public on fire safety, disaster preparedness, and the toxic effects of fires; and
WHEREAS, The public education programs organized and produced by the Foundation have yielded life-saving results; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the week of June 4, 2012, to June 10, 2012, inclusive, as California Fire Safety Awareness and Disaster Preparedness Week, and encourages all California firefighters and the citizens they are sworn to protect to participate in local educational activities within their respective communities throughout that week to help our state better prepare for an emergency; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.