MFD, ‘Peter’s Story’ mark Fire Prevention Month

October is Fire Prevention Month, and this year, the Madison Fire Department is putting a special emphasis on smoke alarms.

Fire prevention became a special focus in Madison following the death of 23-year-old Peter Talen on Nov. 18, 2007. He was visiting his brother, a UW–Madison student, at his residence at 123 N. Bedford St. when a fire broke out. There was only one working smoke alarm in the two-story house.

Talen was a theater student at UW-La Crosse prior to his tragic death. His friends and colleagues there have produced a documentary to tell Talen’s story in hopes of preventing similar tragedies.

The producers of the documentary, Academic Technology Services at UW-La Crosse, granted the Madison Fire Department the rights to air the documentary on its Web site, http://www.cityofmadison.com/fire/prevention/safety/smokeAlarms/.

Last year the Madison Common Council unanimously passed the Peter Talen Memorial Smoke Alarm Ordinance, requiring both rental and owner occupied properties to have a tamper proof smoke alarm with a 10-year battery, or a smoke alarm hard wired to an outlet. Information on smoke alarms and the new ordinance is also available on the site.

For campus fire prevention tips, visit http://www.safeu.wisc.edu/protect/fire.html