Pigeon Forge Fire Department Receives Award

Congratulations to the Pigeon Forge Fire Department who has earned an award for their fire prevention accomplishments.

The National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation (NASFM Foundation) and Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company have awarded the Pigeon Forge Fire Department with a 2013 Life Safety Achievement Award.

To apply for the Life Safety Achievement Award, the organization requires the chief of a fire department submit an application detailing how the department met award criteria during the 2013 calendar year, including:

• Zero fire deaths or at least a 10% reduction in fire deaths from the previous year.
• Having a fire prevention program in place within the department.
• Demonstrate a commitment to fire prevention activities.
• Show the department’s fire prevention activities increased compared to the previous year and that they are making a positive difference.

“Experience tells us that fire prevention activity and public education can significantly reduce life and property loss from residential fires,” said NASFM Foundation President Butch Browning in a release. “Prevention and education are very cost effective compared to the traditional approach of relying on fire suppression. The Life Safety Achievement Award recognizes fire departments for their fire prevention efforts and encourages them to continually improve upon those efforts.”

Nationwide, 142 fire departments in 33 states earned the Life Safety Achievement Award. Pigeon Forge Fire Department was one of four fire departments in Tennessee, others departments honored were the Germantown Fire Department, Henderson Fire Department and Sharps Chapel Volunteer Fire Department.

“The heroic efforts of our local fire service aren’t limited to rushing into burning buildings to save families. They also present educational information to local schools and other community groups to make sure people know how to respond to fires and how to prevent them in the first place,” said Alan Clark, assistant vice president of Special Investigations for Grinnell Mutual. “The Life Safety Achievement Award recognizes fire departments for their fire prevention programs that have proven to save lives year after year.”