The Residential Fire Safety Institue (RFSI) has presented the Garyville Fire Department with a Life Safety Achievement Award for the year of 2004. Roy L. Marshall, Director of teh RFSI, announced the award.

For 12 years, the Life Safety Achievement Award has recognized the local fire prevention activities that contributed to reducing the number of lives lost in residental fires. The Garyville Fire Department qualified for this award in year 2004 becuase it recorded zero fire deaths in structures during that year.

Although residential fire in the U. S. account for only 20 percent of all fires, they result in 80 percent of all fire deaths. The RFSI is committed to reducing that number. A total of 792 fire departments in the U.S., Canada, Italy, Greece and Iceland received the 2004 Life Safety Achievement Award.

&#8220Experience tells us that fire prevention activity and public education can significantly activity and public education can significantly reduce life and property loss from residental fires,” Marshall said. &#8220Prevention and education are very cost effective compared to the traditional approach of relying on fire suppression. The Life Safety Achievement Award recognizes fire departments for their fire prevention efforts and encourages them to continually improve those efforts.”

The RFSI is a public interest group whose mission is to reduce residential fire deaths and injuries. The RFSI advocates the sue of residential fire sprinklers, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and teaching people fire-safety behavior. The RFSI assists fire departments with implementing residential sprinkler/smoke alarm programs on a local basis. The RFSI’s membership includes the United States Fire Administration, the National Association of State Fire Marshals and private industry/associations with an interest in and commitment to residental fire safety.