FIRE PREVENTION WEEK

Fire Prevention week falls in October,  marking the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of Oct. 9, 1871.

President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the first National Fire Prevention Week on Oct. 4–10, 1925, noting fires claimed 15,000 lives across the U.S. the prior year.

"This waste results from the conditions which justify a sense of shame and horror; for the greater part of it could and ought to be prevented," Coolidge said.

"It is highly desirable that every effort be made to reform the conditions which have made possible so vast a destruction of the national wealth."

In 2015, fires caused 3,280 civilian deaths, 15,700 civilian injuries, and $14.3 billion in property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

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EVERGLADES FERTILIZER, FLORIDA

On Jan. 13, 1969, fire broke out at the Everglades Fertilizer Plant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and burned for three days, fueled by tons of toxic chemicals. Of the the 100 firefighters at the blaze, more than a quarter were diagnosed with cancer. "It was a witches` brew, and you had these guys inhaling it," said fire Lt. Stephen McInerny, quoted in 1990 by the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.

CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA

Photo: flashbackmiami.com

Fire station sculpture at Coral Gables, Florida