The Egg
The egg was well known in his land. The jovial, extroverted type of fellow who always is running ahead of the crowd, making people laugh, quick of wit and tongue. He always seemed to be doing the unpredictable, the silly, whatever it took to please his audience. Prudence, good sense, care and caution were not in his vocabulary and many a 'friend' was left in his wake as he never took good advice, but only followed his appetites and his knack for charming the crowds. He of course was well known in all the highest circles: at court, at the race track, at the hunting club (although he had never been seen on an actual hunt he frequented every party and social event). Then, as any wise street sweeper could tell would happen eventually, that fateful day came. The King's procession was returning to the castle from a foreign diplomatic journey with a good measure of success. The crowds lined the road in from the countryside five and six people deep to welcome their sovereign. If there was anything that irked the egg more than an ill-fitting garment or an overcooked meal, it was someone else receiving the cheers of a crowd. So, as was his habit, he scurried ahead of the parade to find himself a suitable stage. Finding a ladder by the way, he leaned it upon the outer village wall just where the road turned toward the gate. He climbed the ladder, sat himself on the wall facing the road and then shoved the ladder to the side behind some bushes. As he anticipated, the King's procession halted when it came to the turn and the crowd's attention turned to the form at the top of the wall. The moment was his. "Good King," he exclaimed with all the pomp he could muster, "Your humble servant welcomes you home with my most heartfelt congratulations!" The egg of course had intended to remain center stage on the wall for several more minutes for he relished the gaze of the crowd, however, as fate, or common sense, or the story goes, his habitual contempt for prudence got the best of him. Wanting to punctuate his greeting with gesture, he swung his arm across in front of his body and bowed low. His best intent, however, was no match for gravity and his oval form toppled to the road below, shattering into countless pieces. And the rest of the story, as they say, is history. For all the King's horses and all the King's men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again. The deed was done, the tragic end had come, and there was now no way to prevent it.

The Moral
With apologies to their authors, these two stories contrast prudence with waste, initiative with sloth, and self-sacrifice with self-interest. The contrast in these two stories highlights the concept of Prevention. It is the concept of Prevention that drives the mission of the Redmond Fire Prevention Services Division.

The Mission of the Redmond Fire Department is "to continuously protect and preserve life and property through quality education, prevention, disaster preparedness, and rapid emergency response." Clearly, much of our mission as a public service agency is to prevent or reduce the losses from such common 'enemies' as fire, earthquake, and accidents. The strategy of our Fire Prevention Services Division is to: 1) prevent; 2) limit; and 3) provide for quick response to a hazardous event. Our traditional enemy of fire gives a more detailed look at how we implement this strategy.

We seek to prevent fires through several approaches. When fires occur, we investigate their origin and cause. By identifying causes of past fires, we can direct education programs for specific segments of the population which are affected. This may include instructing younger students regarding the danger of playing with matches or lighters. It could mean talking with community groups about safe cooking practices or methods of safely disposing of fireplace or barbeque ashes. We may also inspect businesses, public assembly occupancies, institutions, or similar places to identify hazards and unsafe practices. Where necessary to ensure public safety and well being, we may be required to bring legal weight to bear to see that compliance is gained. Codes are adopted from time to time to provide common, safe practice requirements for our citizenry. When young people demonstrate inappropriate and unsafe behaviors with fire, we have an intervention program, which will help to evaluate the severity of the situation and provide steps of positive action for the individual and their family.

We seek to limit fires in several ways. For many years, Redmond has been very active in requiring fire extinguishing systems (to provide early extinguishment), fire detection systems (to provide early warning), and, along with the Redmond Building Division, construction methods and materials which limit the hazards of fire. These approaches not only limit the amount of damage a fire can do in a given length of time, but also allow for the notification and exiting of occupants and help ensure that when firefighters get to the scene they can quickly and efficiently get to the seat of the fire, thoroughly extinguish it, and limit further damage from the fire itself, from smoke, or water. The smaller the fire and the more quickly firefighters can attack it, the less water is required to extinguish it, the fewer fire personnel are needed, and the sooner the occupancy may be restored to use. For the record, when a typical fire sprinkler system activates, only the sprinkler heads over the fire open up. A typical sprinkler head puts out 20 to 25 gallons of water per minute. A small fire hose may discharge 130 or more gallons per minute and a larger fire hose may use 300 g.p.m.. Automatic fire sprinklers clearly reduce water damage resulting from a fire as well as reducing the fire damage. 

We seek to provide for quick response to a fire by planning for safe and efficient access routes, planning for future fire stations, and minimizing response times. This type of planning occurs both on a district wide, city wide, and site/project basis.

The task of Prevention Services includes not only dealing with the common hazards of fire, but also the fire, health and safety impacts integral to the life of our community. From answering the wide-eyed questions of a seven year old, to ensuring the safety of a convalescent home, to the exotic world of hazardous chemicals and processes, our goal is to provide the highest quality service to the citizens, employees, and visitors of the City of Redmond. Like the little Dutch boy, we seek to encourage short-term sacrifice, and investment for the long term benefits of safety, health, and economic stability.