OREANDA-NEWS. May 16, 2016. Pune, the second largest city in India’s Maharashtra state has seen a steep rise in the number of fires over recent years. The city’s fire department received more than 600 fire-incident related calls in the last four months alone, according to Prashant Ranpise, the Chief Fire Officer for Pune's Fire Department. 

Given this trend, the Pune Fire Department undertook an extensive city-wide awareness drive during the city's Fire Service Week from April 14 to 20, a week dedicated to remembering fire service personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty. In a true example of public/private partnership, Pune Fire Department and Pune Municipal Corporation, the city’s highest civic body, invited the Honeywell-sponsored Safe Kids at Home program to participate as “knowledge partner.”  

Safe Kids at Home is a home safety program that helps prevent burns and scalds among children under 14 years old. Supported by a Honeywell India grant and implemented by Safe Kids Foundation India (SKFI), the program deploys cutting-edge, experiential and fun educational tools targeted at different age groups in Pune aimed at reaching 325,000 children and 175,000 parents by 2018.

During the week-long awareness drive that reached more than 275,000 people, fire safety messages and videos from the Safe Kids at Home program were displayed in prominent public places, including hospitals, bus and railway stations, malls and multiplexes, parks and main roads, fire stations and traffic signals. Additionally, a city-wide rally, street plays, exhibitions and safety message distribution were utilized to educate citizens about fire hazards and preventive measures.  

Safe Kids at Home augments the collective effort and investment made by families and communities as well as healthcare, education, law enforcement and fire safety agencies to ensure a child’s safe and healthy upbringing. The program has also become a central point for bringing citizens and civic agencies together to drive a strong safety culture in the city. 

Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the Company’s global citizenship initiative, focuses on five areas: Family Safety & Security, Housing & Shelter, Science & Math Education, Humanitarian Relief and Habitat & Conservation. Together with leading public and nonprofit institutions, Honeywell develops powerful programs to address these needs in the communities it serves.