Eau Claire (WQOW) - The Eau Claire Fire Department is
set getting ready to take down a special set of decorations that come with a
message of safety. Beginning each year on Thanksgiving, the fire department
puts up wreaths with green lights on all Eau
Claire fire stations. They change out the bulbs every
time there's a structure fire within the city. And this year has been a unique
year.
"The best thing we
can do in fire service is actually to have the message out there for fire
prevention," said Bryon Bensen, a Battalion Chief with the Eau Claire Fire
Department.
Starting at Thanksgiving, wreaths go
up at Eau Claire
fire stations with green lights. Red bulbs would replace the green ones in the
case of a structure fire, which can happen for a variety of reasons.
"A structure fire
in a primary residence will be something that causes damage to the structure
itself. You know, we can get maybe a small fire or a dryer fire, but if it
doesn't do damage to the building then we don't consider that to be a structure
fire," Bensen said.
The fire department says for the
last several holiday seasons they've had to replace at least one bulb, and
sometimes a few. But this year has been an unusual year for the department, and
in a good way. So far this season, they haven't had to replace a single bulb.
"so far for 2012,
we do have our regular amount of smoke detectors going off, alarm systems going
off, burnt food will set off some types of the detectors. And those have come
across on a fairly regular basis. Also, as far as car fires, we go to a couple
of those. There might be trash fires," said Bensen.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly why
this year has been safer.
"From my personal
experience, why we don't have a bulb, a red bulb on the wreath this year, it'd
be hard for me to say why. I'm just glad there's not. There's nothing any
different this year than last year. I'm just glad that the message is getting
out and that we didn't have to go to a fire this year," Bensen said.
The wreaths will still be lit up for
a few more days. They come down each year on New Years Day.
