The California School Board Association (CSBA) designates the month of January each year as School Board Recognition Month. Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Superintendent Christine Schieferle said, “Please join me in thanking our FUSD trustees for their dedication and commitment to our district. Our governing board works year-round with FUSD staff and administration to ensure our students receive the support and services they need to become engaged and productive members of society. They remain focused on our district priorities to improve academic outcomes, provide safe, welcoming, and respectful schools, and retain and recruit the highest quality staff. They prioritize the upgrade and maintenance of our facilities, so our students have schools that are worthy of them. Thank you, Trustee Olivia Palacio, Trustee Scott Beylik, Trustee Tricia Gradias, Trustee Sean Morris, Trustee Lucy Rangel, and pictured Student Representative Trustee Camila Morales for your vision and outstanding work as champions for our students, families, and community of Fillmore and Piru.

Rigo Landeros, Fillmore Fire Chief

Kids love Halloween! They get to dress up and get free candy! What a perfect holiday! Give your kids some precious Halloween memories that they'll have for life.

Some of you kids already know things that you can do to be safe, like how to cross the street, not to talk to or go with strangers, and things like that. But we adults know how exciting Halloween can be and that can make you forget to be careful.

Here are some tips that we have just for you kids, to help keep you safe on Halloween night! Some of these ideas are called "common sense" ideas; that means that they are things that you should know and use every day in life. You are never too young to learn!

Never, ever go into a strangers’ house or even ring their door for treats unless your parents are with you and say that it's okay. There are some people in life that aren't very nice to kids and you have to be careful. Always make sure that your mom or dad is within sight when you go out trick-or-treating.

Be careful when you cross a street. Make sure to look in both directions and make sure that there are no cars coming. If you have a little brother or sister with you, take their hand and help them get across the street, too. If the street has a stop light, wait until the crosswalk light tells you that it's okay to cross, but still check before you cross, looking both ways.

If you are an older kid or young teen, and going out with friends, make sure that your parents know where you are going and who you are going with. This may seem like a pain but they are your parents and they love you. They just want you to be safe.

If you parents give you a curfew, be home when they say. It builds trust between you and them and they are doing it for your own safety. If you are going to be late, call them and let them know.

Have fun on Halloween but keep it safe, have some good, clean fun and your parents will trust you for many Halloweens to come! Showing them how responsible you can be will give you a feeling of pride and make them see just how adult you really are.

Courtesy City of Fillmore Fire Department

As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, Fillmore residents are preparing to celebrate with BBQs and family get-togethers. Unfortunately, these celebrations can quickly turn disastrous, especially when children and teenagers are injured while discharging fireworks. Common sense and wise judgment are paramount to a safe holiday celebration.

The City of Fillmore Fire Department wants to ensure that Fillmore citizens enjoy a safe Fourth of July holiday. Residents are reminded that California State Fire Marshal approved “safe and sane” fireworks sold in Fillmore are legal in Fillmore only June 28 12:00pm – July 5 12:00pm.

The use of any type of non-approved firework is illegal and will result in criminal charges and fines in excess of $1,000. If you witness any illegal activity in the Fillmore area, please report it! Please call 805-524-2233 with any information you can provide. Callers may remain anonymous.

Below are several safety tips to insure you and your family enjoy a safe Independence Day celebration.

Fire Safety
If you witness a crime or fire in progress involving illegal fireworks, call your local authorities by dialing 9-1-1.

Only Safe and Sane fireworks bearing the seal of the State Fire Marshal are legal in California. All other fireworks, including altered Safe and Sane fireworks and those that explode or leave the ground are illegal.
Kids should not play with fireworks. Fireworks are intended for use by adults in open spaces with plenty of active supervision for every child present.

Always have a bucket of water on hand to dispose of fireworks and a hose connected to water ready in case of fire.

Fireworks, including sparklers and flares, can cause serious burns as well as blast injuries that can permanently impair vision and hearing. Teach your children what to do if their clothing catches on fire — “stop, drop and roll” — and how to call 9-1-1 in an emergency.

Rigo Landeros, Fillmore Fire Chief

Courtesy City of Fillmore Fire Department

As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, Fillmore residents are preparing to celebrate with BBQs and family get-togethers. Unfortunately, these celebrations can quickly turn disastrous, especially when children and teenagers are injured while discharging fireworks. Common sense and wise judgment are paramount to a safe holiday celebration.

The City of Fillmore Fire Department wants to ensure that Fillmore citizens enjoy a safe Fourth of July holiday. Residents are reminded that California State Fire Marshal approved “safe and sane” fireworks sold in Fillmore are legal in Fillmore only June 28 12:00pm – July 5 12:00pm.

The use of any type of non-approved firework is illegal and will result in criminal charges and fines in excess of $1,000. If you witness any illegal activity in the Fillmore area, please report it! Please call 805-524-2233 with any information you can provide. Callers may remain anonymous.

Below are several safety tips to insure you and your family enjoy a safe Independence Day celebration.

Fire Safety
If you witness a crime or fire in progress involving illegal fireworks, call your local authorities by dialing 9-1-1.

Only Safe and Sane fireworks bearing the seal of the State Fire Marshal are legal in California. All other fireworks, including altered Safe and Sane fireworks and those that explode or leave the ground are illegal.
Kids should not play with fireworks. Fireworks are intended for use by adults in open spaces with plenty of active supervision for every child present.

Always have a bucket of water on hand to dispose of fireworks and a hose connected to water ready in case of fire.

Fireworks, including sparklers and flares, can cause serious burns as well as blast injuries that can permanently impair vision and hearing. Teach your children what to do if their clothing catches on fire — “stop, drop and roll” — and how to call 9-1-1 in an emergency.

FILLMORE, CA. - On 4/5/2011 at 2:44am the City of Fillmore Fire Department responded to a report of a possible structure fire at 160 Santa Clara Avenue in the City of Fillmore.

Upon arriving on scene, firefighters observed light smoke coming from the single story, single family dwelling. Further investigation revealed the seat of the fire to be in the kitchen and dining room area. Prior to fire personnel arriving on scene, one of six residents had just returned home when he was alerted to the fire by his family. The resident quickly applied water to the fire using a water hose from the yard preventing further spread. Firefighters quickly extinguished the remaining flames and evacuated the smoke from the structure to prevent further damage.

Five occupants were inside the location at the time of the incident however they escaped the structure without injury. Due to the smoke damage throughout the structure, it was determined to be inhabitable by the Building & Safety Department.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Rigo Landeros, Fillmore Fire Chief

There are two important tasks that each of us need to accomplish on Sunday March 13. One is to reset our clocks by moving them ahead one hour as we adjust to daylight savings time. The other is to check and replace the batteries in our household smoke alarms. Accomplishing the first might save our jobs; accomplishing the second might save our lives.

Studies have shown that when working smoke alarms are present, the chance of dying from the fire is cut in half. The smoke alarms currently in use have saved thousands of lives, but several problems exist. First, the small percentage of homes without alarms have more than half of the fatal fires; second, it is estimated that a third of the smoke alarms in place are not working, often due to failure to replace a worn out or missing battery; and third, many homes do not have sufficient number of smoke to protect the home adequately.

The primary job of a smoke alarm is to protect us from fires while we are asleep. Therefore, our smoke alarms should be located between places where we sleep and the rest of the house. However that might not be enough.
In multi-story homes, fires on a floor level without a smoke alarm can grow too dangerous conditions before sufficient smoke will rise in a stairway to set off an alarm on the upper floor. Based on this factor smoke alarms should be located on each floor level of the home.

A closed door inhibits smoke from reaching the room on the other side, but it also prevents smoke from reaching a smoke alarm. This is particularly a problem in bedrooms. Those who sleep with their bedroom door closed should add a smoke alarm in the bedroom; especially if they smoke in the bedroom or there is a TV, air conditioner, space heater, or other major appliances in the bedroom that might start a fire. For those who sleep with the bedroom door open, the alarm in the hall outside will detect a fire in the bedroom.

Smoke alarms should be installed on the ceiling or high on the wall. Alarms should be no closer than three feet from supply registers of forced air heating and cooling systems that might blow on the detector preventing it from seeing smoke, and no closer than three feet from the door to a kitchen or a bathroom containing a shower as steam can set the alarm off when the door is opened.

There are some places where a smoke alarm need not be installed. They include kitchens and garages where cooking fumes and car exhaust are likely to set them off. Nor need they be placed in unheated attics and crawl spaces where it can get too cold or hot for the electronics to work properly. Fires beginning in these areas are generally detected by the other smoke alarms in the structure and in sufficient time to escape safely.

Most alarms installed today have a life span of about 8-10 years. After that time, each unit should be replaced. It is a good idea to write the date of purchase on the inside of the alarm so you will know when to replace it. Replace batteries in all smoke alarms at least once a year. If an alarm "Chirps", it is indicating that the battery is low and should be replaced immediately.

Special precautions should be taken with the very young, the elderly, the hard of hearing and very sound sleepers; they may not be awakened by a sounding smoke alarm. It is a good idea to hold a nighttime fire drill by setting off the smoke alarm and determining which individuals were not awakened. In such cases alternate methods could be devised to alert them such as assigning an adult to make sure that they are awakened in a real emergency. Individuals with hearing impairments can get smoke alarms with bright, flashing lights or vibrating signals. To awaken them, the light needs to be over the head of the bed and should be rated at least 110 candles. Such bright lights must be powered from house power, so if it is battery operated, it is probably not bright enough to use in the bedroom.

If you rent, talk to your landlord about placing a working smoke alarm in your home. You still need to buy a new battery at least once a year for the alarm.

Let’s all enjoy the spring weather and protect our loved ones by taking a few minutes out of our day and set our clocks and change our batteries on our smoke detectors on March 13, 2011.

Rigo Landeros, Fillmore Fire Chief

The streets in and around Fillmore are getting busier every day. People are in a hurry. While trying to do more than one thing at a time, such as driving and talking on cell phones, they are dividing their attention and concentration between two tasks and significantly increasing the probability of a tragic outcome.

There are some actions pedestrians can take to minimize the chances of being hit by an inattentive driver. They go far beyond the "Stop, Look and Listen" we were taught as children.

In California, where a right turn on a red light is permissible, many distracted drivers will stop at an intersection, look for oncoming cars, and proceed with the turn without checking for pedestrians entering the crosswalk. The pedestrian will assume it is safe to cross because the light is green and the car has stopped. The consequences could be tragic. In a collision between an SUV and a child walking across the street the SUV will win every time.

What can a pedestrian do to minimize the risk of such a tragedy? Make certain that all cars at the intersection that might drive through your crosswalk are fully stopped. Don’t assume that the driver knows you are there and that you intend to cross the street. Make eye contact with the driver and give him some indication that you intend to cross. Walk, don’t run across the intersection. Running will increase the chances that another car approaching the same intersection will not be able to see you in sufficient time to stop.

Don’t assume that because a car in one lane has stopped for you that those in adjacent lanes will also stop. Their view of you may be blocked by the car that has stopped for you.

Don’t assume that because you our riding a scooter or electric cart, bicycle ECT. That you have the right-of-away. Always try to get eye contact and always lean on the safe side by giving vehicle’s the right-of-way.

Look left, right and left again for traffic before stepping off the curb.

Keep alert for unsafe drivers. If you see somebody speeding and switching lanes there is a good chance she is trying to beat the red light. She will not be aware of or concerned with pedestrians. Let her pass before attempting to cross the street.

Keep in mind that a vehicle with its turn indicator on may not turn and, conversely, a vehicle with its turn indicator off might still make a turn.

Turn down the volume on your iPod. Keep the volume low enough to allow you to hear what is going on around you such as car horns, sirens or people shouting warnings.

Don’t hold conversations on your cell phone while walking. Talking on a cell phone while walking is just as dangerous as talking on it while driving. You will distracted and will not be fully aware of any traffic danger you might encounter. If that traffic danger happens to be a driver talking on his cell phone it becomes an instant recipe for tragedy.

Do not ride skateboards or similar devices across intersections. If a vehicle comes through unexpectedly a skateboard rider will not be able to stop quickly enough.

If you are required to walk in an area where there is no sidewalk always walk on the side of the street facing oncoming traffic. If with a group it is safest to walk single-file on streets without sidewalks.

Be aware that at dawn and at dusk that the sun might be in drivers eyes limiting their visibility.

If you need to be walking at night keep in mind that drivers do not expect to see people out after dark. Wear light colored clothing and, when possible, reflective clothing of some type.

Unlike driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, walking will probably not result in the death or injury of someone else - but it could very well result in yours. As an inebriated pedestrian your chances of suffering an accident increase significantly.

Yield to drivers when crossing a street where there is no intersection or crosswalk or where the pedestrian does not have a green or "walk" signal and where vehicles have a green signal.