Fire Prevention Week is an opportunity to educate

Prevention message and this year’s theme, “Have 2 Ways Out,”
gets extra emphasis from St. Augustine Fire Department this month

For the last 90 years, the week in which October 9 falls has been designated as Fire Prevention Week, but for the St. Augustine Fire Department, what is nationally a week is locally a month. Taking advantage of the nation-wide emphasis on fire prevention in October each year, the St. Augustine Fire Department uses the themed month to educate the public on fire safety.

Much of that education takes place in the community’s elementary schools, pre-schools and daycare centers where fire personnel are greeted by an audience ready to listen and willing to learn. According to John Rayno, St. Augustine’s Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Chief, having firefighters visit schools is a very effective way to get information into the home.

“For instance, we spend time talking about the importance of not just having smoke alarms, but taking the time to test them. After one of our visits, I’m sure there are parents being asked to check smoke alarms by students we met that day, and that’s good,” said Rayno in an interview on WFCF’s weekly program, The Break Room. To hear the entire interview, visit www.breakroom.info.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week’s theme is “Have 2 Ways Out,” focusing on the need for escape plans to incorporate two exits for each room. Taking stock of available exits is essential to every escape plan, whether for home or business, and those plans need to be well known and practiced.

While the month of October has an emphasis on prevention education, fire department personnel are ready to bring tailor made programming to civic associations, businesses, living facilities, churches and anywhere else a group wants to know more about fire prevention.

For more information about National Fire Prevention Week visit www.fpw.org. For more information about the St. Augustine Fire Department’s fire prevention programs contact the department at 904.825.1098.

See also this related story:
http://www.staugustinegovernment.com/the-city/featured-stories-archive/FirePrev.cfm

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City plants 23 trees in just two days

Live oaks, red cedars and magnolias replace trees
removed following tree assessment program

If it is true that any day is made better by the planting of a tree then last week the City of St. Augustine gave the community some great days by planting over 20 new trees in just a two-day period.

Most of the plantings are replacement trees for those that had to be removed following receipt of the results of a tree assessment that identified 15 trees in the city right-of-way that were deemed to be so far decayed as to be unsafe, commonly referred to as hazard trees. The inventory was made possible by an Urban and Community Forestry grant provided through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services which provided $6,000 that was matched by the city. The funds made possible the long overdue inventory and assessment of over 500 trees in the city rights-of-way and parks within the historic areas of St. Augustine.

The new trees included live oaks that were planted along the most northern section of San Marco Ave. and Vickers Field, magnolias planted on Riberia St. next to Francis Field and red cedars along Flagler Blvd. and at the Visitors Information Center.

The Urban and Community Forestry grant was used to retain the services of an International Society of Arboriculture Board Certified Arborist to provide the initial tree inventory baseline data which provides the basis for the development of an urban forestry management program. That program specifies recommended management practices, provides guidance for the City Manager and maintenance supervisor in allocation of tree maintenance resources, and documents the inventory and required maintenance.

For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 904.825.1040.

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Avenida Menendez crosswalk installation
necessitates lane closure

Traffic reduced to one lane in each direction

The installation of crosswalks at two locations on Avenida Menendez will necessitate the reduction of traffic to two lanes, one for northbound traffic and one for southbound, in two locations on two different occasions in coming weeks. The crosswalks at Fort Alley and Cuna Street, currently delineated with stamped asphalt to simulate brick, will be replaced with historic, authentic brick.

To accommodate the extensive work, Avenida Menendez will be reduced to two lane, two way traffic for a period of four days lasting from mid-day Sunday through Wednesday evening. At no time will Avenida Menendez be closed, but traffic will be slowed through the area during the work. The work is scheduled for:
• Fort Alley crosswalk installation: mid-day Sunday, October 21 through the evening of Wednesday, October 24.
• Cuna Street crosswalk installation: mid-day Sunday, October 28 through the evening of Wednesday, October 31.

The crosswalk installation is the final element of an extensive project that began in early February of this year and includes extensive pedestrian improvements along south Castillo Drive that have included the installation of new street lights, widening of sidewalks, and improved signalization for both pedestrians and vehicles. Funding for the project was secured by Congressman John Mica who, during a visit to St. Augustine, noticed the challenges pedestrians had in the congested area lying between popular St. George Street and the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. He then set about seeking an appropriation to fund the changes needed to alleviate those challenges.

For more information, contact the Planning and Building Department at 904.825.1065.

Source: City of St. Augustine