Liberty Mutual Unveils Fire Safety Experience

Fire reportedly kills an average of 4,200 people in the U.S. each year — more than all natural disasters combined – and another 25,000 are injured.

To help families recognize hazards and reduce the likelihood of fire in their homes, Liberty Mutual introduces “Where’s The Fire?”, a fire safety and education exhibit opening Tuesday, Oct. 5, at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
The opening of “Where’s the Fire?” coincides with this year’s National Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 3-9.

“Through this experience, we aim to influence a significant reduction in
residential fires by giving people a better understanding of the safety
hazards in their own homes,” said Paul Condrin, Liberty Mutual executive vice president, Personal Market. “Eighty percent of all fires take place in the home, and many of these are avoidable – when people know how to prevent them.”

“Where’s the Fire?” is a 4,000-plus square foot exhibit designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in cooperation with Liberty Mutual’s fire safety specialists and the U.S. Fire Administration.

The exhibit includes:

* “Where’s the Fire?” Game House – Two teams of up to 15 guests each search six rooms (kitchen, family room, child bedroom, bathroom, home office and garage) of a house to find and eliminate fire hazards using a specially designed, technologically unique, hand-held “safety light.”

Team members, divided into groups of up to three per room, aim their
“safety light” onto a wall-sized projected image in each room to find
and extinguish hazards. Deciding if the hazard could cause a fire
requires discussion: all members of the group must collectively aim
their lights at the hazard to fix it. Correct decisions earn points,
incorrect or slow decisions mean a point deduction, or worse – a fire!

* “Play It Safe” house for younger children – Children five and under
are twice as likely to die in a fire than the rest of the population. So younger guests will learn a very important message in this four-room
miniature house: don’t hide during a fire. Special lighting will simulate the direction fire travels – telling children the best way to exit a home. The “Play It Safe” house also teaches parents that they should develop and practice an escape plan with their family at home.

* “Burning Questions” fire safety quiz kiosks – three touch-screen
kiosks present a timed safety quiz, testing guests’ knowledge of fire
facts. Thinking fast is key – when the screen bursts into flames, time is up.

* 30-foot fire truck – a technologically advanced interactive pumper
truck greets all guests at “Where’s the Fire?” Designed and built by
W.S. Darley & Company of Melrose Park, Ill., the truck lets guests see how a pumper operates and learn about the equipment worn, carried and used by firefighters. One side of the truck has a “Badges of Honor”

* Display – Liberty Mutual’s tribute to the important role of paid and volunteer fire fighters in this country.

“With ‘Where’s the Fire?’, Walt Disney Imagineering has combined
innovation, fun and education to bring this new experience to life for our Disney guests,” said Joe Garlington, vice president and of Walt Disney Imagineering. “Guests will be ‘wowed’ by the new magic that gives participants the impression they can see through walls, floors and cabinets as they boost their knowledge of fire safety.”

“We commend Liberty Mutual and Disney for their roles in creating the
‘Where’s the Fire?’ exhibit to promote fire safety,” said R. David Paulison, administrator, U.S. Fire Administration. “This experience will not only help reduce the number of in-home fires, it will ultimately help save lives.”