About Derrick Whitehead

 I am a native of Chicago, Illinois and I grew up on the Southside in the Englewood area. I received my certification to fight fires in Winston Salem, North Carolina, Firefighter Level II, Hazmat Level I. It was during my experience as a Firefighter where I came up with the idea to start the Office of Fire Prevention, Inc. (OFP). What provoked the idea was an experience in the line of duty, which resulted in the loss of life to a child, major destruction of property and the observation of an unsafe home which led to injuries to the family. This home did not have any working smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors, it did not have a fire extinguisher and it used extension cords, which were observed to be overloaded. In addition from the looks of all the clutter in the home, it appeared as if someone in this family was a hoarder. Our engine company entered the home through the front door and safely made our way up the steps to the second level, touching all doors, looking under beds and looking in closets in search of life. Our initial search efforts did not find any victims but a second engine company search efforts located a body on the first level. After our efforts on the second level, my team proceeded to the first floor; it was then that I saw something, which at the time I did not know would change my life forever. It was the body of a male child, who was unresponsive and burned badly over half of his body. The heat was so intense from this fire that this child’s teeth melted and he was unrecognizable. This experience illuminated my passion and commitment to taking fire safety and its message to another level and that is when I began to work on what today is now known as the Office of Fire Prevention, Inc. (OFP).

It was at that time when I developed a greater understanding of my pledge to do more as a firefighter fighter and a citizen to promote fire prevention and fire safety awareness to the community. It’s been 20 plus years to date and my commitment and passion for serving the community has not changed. What has changed is my approach in getting the message out. Please learn more about my efforts, what you can do to become an advocate for fire safety (Safety Advocate) and to support OFP as we continue our mission to eliminate death, injuries and property destruction as a result of fires.