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NYCHA’s Fire Safety Symposia 2025: Kindling Critical Knowledge

Joshua Olesker

“The best fire to have is the one that never gets started in the first place.”

That’s the guiding principle behind this summer and fall’s free Fire Safety Symposia, hosted by NYCHA in partnership with the New York City Fire Museum, the FDNY Education Unit, FDNY Fire Marshals, and the Public Housing Community Fund. After a successful launch in 2023, the program is back with an upgraded, hands-on format designed to give residents the knowledge and practical skills that could save lives.

A Borough-to-Borough Tour

This year’s series includes six symposia, each bringing together fire safety experts, NYCHA staff, and FDNY educators to meet residents where they are. The first two symposia took place on August 13 at Brooklyn’s Ingersoll Houses and on August 27 at the Bronx’s Sotomayor Houses. Still to come are:

  • Queens – Queensbridge: Tuesday, September 9
  • Queens – Beach 41st: Wednesday, September 24
  • Staten Island – Stapleton: Wednesday, October 8
  • Manhattan – Johnson: Wednesday, October 22

After a presentation on the common causes of fires and prevention strategies, three interactive skill stations are featured:

  1. Hands-Only CPR Training – Led by FDNY Lieutenant Willie Bedoya and his CPR team, participants practice this lifesaving skill. Research shows that people retain far more when they hear, see, and do — and when emergencies strike and every second counts, muscle memory can save a loved one even before EMS arrives.
  2. Fire Extinguisher Training – Residents learn about extinguisher types (A, B, C) and practice using both a high-tech simulator and real pressurized water extinguishers outdoors. The “PASS” technique — Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep — will no longer just be words, but a skill participants walk away knowing.
  3. Exit Drill in the Home (EDITH) – With NYCHA’s Emergency Management and Services Division, participants map out personal escape plans, understand when to shelter in place versus when to evacuate, and learn to prepare emergency “go bags.” This station reinforces situational awareness — because in smoke and darkness, knowing how many doors there are from your apartment to the door with the stairwell behind it could make all the difference.

The first two symposia took place on August 13 at Brooklyn’s Ingersoll Houses
and on August 27 at the Bronx’s Sotomayor Houses.

Why These Symposia Matter

Knowing how to prevent a fire makes all the difference; the majority of fire incidents involve:

  • Compactor fires from smoking materials;
  • Fires sparked in homes by inattentive cooking, smoking, overloaded extension cords and power strips, candles, and lithium-ion e-mobility devices; or
  • Electrical fires worsened by overloaded circuits or cheap extension cords.

To register for an upcoming symposium, NYCHA residents can email resident.engagement@nycha.nyc.gov or call (212) 306-8436.