SFMO Reminds Tennesseans of the Importance of Fire Safety During Community Risk Reduction Week (Jan. 17-23, 2022)

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office are raising awareness of the importance of fire safety across the Volunteer State during Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Week (Jan. 17-23, 2022).

CRR Week 2022 is a national, grassroots effort created by fire safety professionals to help promote and raise awareness about how data can identify and prioritize local risks and reduce their occurrence and impact. CRR Week kicks off on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 17) in order to highlight the importance of volunteers in helping improve fire safety in their communities.

“During CRR Week, members of the Tennessee fire service can demonstrate how any department, no matter what type, size, or location, can use CRR's concepts to help make their communities and their departments safer,” said Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Gary Farley. “The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office is committed to working with departments across Tennessee to help reduce risk and prevent the loss of life.”

To raise awareness about the importance of CRR, the SFMO will be participating in outreach events to help show the importance of fire safety in Tennessee.

• The SFMO will get a head start on CRR Week by supplying working smoke alarms to the Brentwood Fire Department and the American Red Cross for installation on Saturday, Jan. 15 in the 500-home Brentwood Point subdivision.
• Winning entries in the 2021 SFMO Poster Contest will be announced during CRR Week. Participants in the poster contest designed posters around the theme “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety” to help raise awareness of the importance of the sounds that smoke alarms make when they are working properly. An award ceremony for the poster contest winners will be held Saturday, Feb. 5 in Franklin.  
• Members of the SFMO will kick off their monthly outreach visits to Tennessee fire departments for 2022 on Friday, Jan. 21 with visits to Shackle Island Volunteer Fire Department, White House Community Volunteer Fire Department, Red Boiling Springs Fire Department, and Carthage Fire Department. Through these visits, the SFMO can support local fire departments while learning more about the needs of departments and communities across Tennessee. 
• SFMO team members will be meeting with six fire departments that applied for the SFMO’s Excellence in Community Risk Reduction Award to discuss their applications and the feedback they received from the panel of evaluators. The finalists for the award were recognized at the recent Fire Loss Symposium in December.

To learn more about how to participate in CRR Week, visit crrweek.org. 

To learn more about fire safety in Tennessee, visit tn.gov/fire. 

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