The Huntington Beach Fire Department has been presented with a Life Safety Achievement Award for the year 2006 by the Residential Fire Safety Institute (RFSI). The Life Safety Achievement Award recognizes fire prevention activities that contribute to reducing the number of lives lost in residential fires.

The Fire Department qualified for this award in year 2006 because it recorded zero fire deaths in structures during that year. Since 1995, the Fire Department has received this award eleven times. Although residential fires in the U.S. account for only 20% of all fires, they result in 80% of all fire deaths.

Experience shows that fire prevention activity and public education can significantly reduce life and property loss from residential fires.

Prevention 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

Of the 35,000 recognized public fire departments in the nation only 970 received this award

The RFSI is a public interest group whose mission is to reduce residential fire deaths and injuries. They advocate the use of residential fire sprinklers; smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and teaching people fire-safe behavior.

The RSFI's membership includes the United States Fire Administration, the National Association of State Fire Marshals and private industry and associations with an interest in and commitment to residential fire safety. For more information about this organization their website is www.firesafehome.org