Residents of "The Village," an assisted living center in Bryan, learned fire prevention techniques during a fire safety program at Hillside Country Living today.

This lifesaving lesson was led by Jerry Baucher, a fire safety educator for the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of State Fire Marshal. He was joined by Donna Owens, Director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, and Gerald Robinson, Chief of the Bryan Fire Department. Director Owens was visiting the area in conjunction with Governor George V. Voinovich's regional cabinet day.

"I think that we have an important mission to educate Ohioans, both young and old, on fire safety," said Baucher. "The elderly have to exercise increased precautions to ensure their safety against fire in the home."

During the program, Baucher addressed fire safety and precautions for senior citizens. The elderly are a high risk group due to potential health concerns and mobility issues. As a result, Baucher stressed the importance of having two escape routes from each floor and ensuring that smoke detectors are operating correctly. Eighty percent of all residential fire fatalities occur in homes without smoke detectors or ones that are not working properly.

"I am extremely proud of the work our fire safety educators do to heighten awareness around the state," said Director Owens. "Our program helps teach citizens how to prevent fires and how to survive a house fire."

This fire safety lesson was one of the many programs being taught across the state each year. The Division of State Fire Marshal’s Fire Prevention Bureau has eight fire safety districts in which fire safety educators taught 3061 programs to 75,727 citizens in elementary schools, hospitals, nursing homes, private industry and civic groups last year.

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The Division of State Fire Marshal is part of the Ohio Department of Commerce. The Fire Marshal’s Office trains firefighters, enforces the Ohio Fire Code, investigates the cause and origins of fires and explosions, provides fire prevention programs, and performs other services. Other Commerce divisions enforce regulations regarding industrial compliance, financial institutions, real estate, securities, auctioneers, unclaimed funds and private investigators, among others.