Join The St. Cloud Fire Department For An Informative Open House

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- This is Fire Prevention Week, and this year's theme is "Charge Into Safety."

St. Cloud Fire Marshal Brian Kiffmeyer says cooking remains the number one cause of fires. However, fires started by lithium-ion batteries are on the rise, and he has some safety tips.

Using manufacturer chargers.  We have seen that the aftermarket chargers don't always have the battery management system in them to properly charge a manufacturer's battery without the manufacturer's charger being plugged into it, so they can overheat and fail.

Kiffmeyer says you shouldn't be charging your electronics on soft surfaces. You should also replace your battery if it is hot to the touch or starts to smell.

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The St. Cloud Fire Department is hosting an Open House on Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. this Wednesday at Fire Station 3 at 1201 University Drive Southeast in St. Cloud.

Kiffmeyer says they also distributed 4,000 informational packets to schools, and their fire trucks will be making visits to daycares and schools all week.

He says there are three main areas that they are in charge of.

Number one is code enforcement, so that means we perform fire safety inspections in businesses, schools, restaurants, and other buildings in the city.  The second one is fire inspections, and the main purpose there is to determine the cause and origin of fires after they have started.

And the third area is public education.

The St. Cloud Fire Department responds to about 10,000 incidents every year, with 250 to 300 of those actual fires. They have 70 full-time firefighters with four stations. There's a fifth station at the airport that is staffed when commercial airlines are scheduled. A sixth station was approved by the voters last fall and will be built near Tech High School.