MEDIA ADVISORY:

FDNY KICKS OFF 2004 SCHOOL YEAR BY TAKING
FIRE SAFETY EDUCATION “ON THE ROAD”

Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Domestic Preparedness to present Fire
Commissioner Scoppetta and the FDNY Fire Zone with $676,209 to promote fire safety
education in new immigrant communities throughout New York City.

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and FDNY Fire Safety Education Fund President Stephen Ruzow tomorrow will accept a grant totaling $676,209 from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Domestic Preparedness to fund fire safety education programs throughout the City’s five boroughs. The program, “Fire Zone on the Road” targets high fire-risk areas and new immigrant communities and brings the fire safety message home to schools and community centers. The funding provides for outreach into these communities and educational materials in five languages: Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, Urdu and Arabic.

Tomorrow’s event will include a fire safety presentation to 180 fourth graders enrolled at P.S. 130 in Chinatown. P.S. 130’s ethnic make-up is 90% Asian, 4% Hispanic and 4% Caucasian and 2% African-American. Following the presentation, the Fire Commissioner and Chief of Department Peter Hayden will swear the children in as junior fire chiefs. The formal check presentation will follow.

Press Contact: Francis X. Gribbon / Virginia Lam (FDNY) (718) 999-2056

http://www.nyc.gov/fdny