By Mac Hohenberger Fire Chief, ESD #1
Each year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recognizes the first week of October as Fire Prevention Week. During Fire Prevention Week, firefighters provide lifesaving public education in an effort to decrease casualties caused by fires.
This year’s FPW campaign is “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety!” with the intention to teach community members about the different sounds smoke and carbon monoxide alarms make. Knowing what to do when an alarm sounds will keep you and your family safe. When an alarm makes noises – a beeping sound or a chirping sound – you must take action.
As we prepare to enter the autumn months in Texas, the Denton County ESD #1 would like to remind our community to update their registrations for our mass notification system, Everbridge. The months of October and November are also known as our “second tornado season” and the Denton County ESD #1 closely monitors weather for our community through the National Weather Service. Once citizens are registered through Everbridge, we have the ability to communicate mass notification services via phone, text, e-mail, and TTY services for urgent and emergency needs.
All towns and areas within our district, including Argyle, Bartonville, Copper Canyon, Draper, Lantana, Northlake, as well as unincorporated parts of Denton County are able to utilize this free notification service. We encourage all citizens to utilize this service and to register to receive all forms of communication that it provides.
You can sign up for emergency notifications by visiting our website or by calling the Denton County ESD #1 Administration office at 940-464-7102.
In August, the Denton County ESD #1 responded to 329 total calls for service with an average response time of 7:05 minutes. Of the total calls, 166 (50%) were for emergency medical services, 29 were automatic alarms, 24 were motor vehicle collisions, and nine were fire responses.
For questions, please feel free to send me an email at [email protected]