FREEPORT

Residents will have an opportunity to learn about fire prevention, take a peek at the fire and rescue fleet, and even register for volunteer firefighter training at the fire prevention open house at the Freeport Public Safety building tonight.

The open house is held annually during the National Fire Protection Association’s fire prevention week, which runs through Oct. 11. The NFPA’s theme for this year’s campaign, “Working Smoke Detectors Save Lives,” is strongly supported by local departments.

“People that perish in fires most often perish of smoke inhalation — the flame never even reaches them” said Freeport Fire Chief Darrel Fournier. “We have found that having working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors is so important and encourage everyone to have them and check them regularly.”

Having an escape plan in the event that an alarm goes off is also critical, said Fournier, and is one of the many activities individuals and families will have an opportunity to practice at the open house.

“We’ll have a smoke house exhibit, so kids can practice navigating through and getting out of a house filled with smoke,” said Fournier. The exhibit consists of a three room trailer that is used to simulate fire escape planning.

The open house will also be highlighting cooking safety and there will be demonstrations on an electric stove of how to extinguish a grease fire. There will also be a display where participants can use a fire hose, a seat belt convincer demonstration, AED — automated external defibrillator — demonstrations, and a blood pressure check station.

The open house includes displays from the Brunswick 911 Communications Center, Midcoast Community Emergency Response Team, Amateur Radio Emergency Service Team, Freeport Police Department. K-9 Cassie will be present, and ambulances and fire trucks will be on display.

The Freeport Fire and Rescue Auxiliary will be selling hot dogs and hamburgers from 5-7 p.m., said Fournier, and the Maine Public Safety Pipe and Drum Corps will give a performance.

“We’re also looking to have people that might be willing to join the fire department,” said Fournier, adding that the fire department recruits from Freeport and the surrounding communities.

Last winter the mostly volunteer fire department was taxed with a series of structure fires between December and March.

On Dec. 24, 2013, a fire destroyed a mobile home on Starboard Lane. This was followed by a fire on Jan. 16 that started in the basement of a split-level ranch on Griffin Road, and two fires that occurred on Jan. 19 and 20 at neighboring mobile homes on Ware Road. Less than a week later, a fire gutted an RV and a garage on Fernald Road.

In March, a lobster boat and dinghy caught fire off Flying Point Road, and a basement fire at the Doherty North Freeport Store on Wardtown Road forced the owners to dispose of the store’s entire inventory.

In April an electrical fire set a mobile home ablaze, but the call came in during a meeting at the Fire Department and the responders had the fire under control within 16 minutes of receiving the call. A July three-alarm fire on Balsam lane drew in mutual support from more than eight towns who responded on scene and for station coverage to manage co-occurring calls in neighboring communities.

“Fires double in size every two to three minutes, so we’re trying to be on scene within three to four minutes,” said Fournier in a February interview with The Times Record. “We’ve found the last four fires we had on the north side of town, we were on scene in about 10 minutes.”

A team of four is required to staff a firetruck responding to a fire, said Fournier, though currently the department is budgeted for two on-duty firefighters. Additionally, the number of volunteers has declined in recent years, while the emergency call volume has nearly doubled.

“We still have a shortage of volunteers,” said Fournier, “so we’ll have recruiting tables out and we hope people will come down and stop by.”

The Freeport Public Safety building is located at 16 Main St.

The Brunswick Fire Department will also be having an open house tonight, from 4-7 p.m. at the Emerson Station located at 284 Bath Rd. The Bath Fire Department open house will take place from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday at 864 High St. The Richmond Fire Department open house will take place from 5:30-7:30, Oct. 13. The Woolwich Fire Department will take place from 6- 8 p.m, Oct. 15 at 13 Nequasset Rd. The Lisbon Fire Department will have a fire department day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 18, at the Aubuchon Hardware store located on Lisbon Street.

rgargiulo@timesrecord.com