PRESS RELEASES 
Liberty Mutual Insurance Awards $10,000 Grant to Portland
Fire Safety Educator for Creating Innovative Museum
Portland Fire & Rescue News Release April 8, 2010
Public Education Office, Prevention Division
Portland, Ore. – What is the most innovative way to educate families about fire safety and prevention? Try Portland, Oregon’s Historic Belmont Safety Learning Center and Fire Museum, created in 2004 by Fire Inspector/Specialist Don Porth of Portland Fire and Rescue. With more than 27,000 visitors since launching, the Safety Learning Center and Museum features an interactive fire engine ride, in which visitors buckle up in a real-life cab and look through the window as the vehicle responds to simulated emergencies.
On April 8, 2010, Liberty Mutual Insurance honored Don Porth for his part in creating the center and his 25-year dedication to protecting and educating local residents. In front of an audience of friends, family, and firefighters, Porth received the 2009 National Firemark Award for Public Education and Community Service and a $10,000 grant. Porth plans to use the grant to support the Jeff Morris Fire and Life Safety Foundation, a major partner in Portland Fire and Rescue’s efforts to provide fire safety education. You can find more information about the Jeff Morris Fire and Life Safety Foundation at http://www.jeffmorrisfoundation.org/.
Liberty Mutual National Firemark Award winners are chosen from a pool of nominees who received local awards from a Liberty Mutual office in their community throughout the year. Porth was honored locally in 2009, and was selected from more than 150 local winners for the national award.
“Don Porth is a perfect example of how to put out fires before they start, by inspiring families to think about safety and prevention through thoughtful teachings and high-tech exhibits,” said Kylie Tacheny, sales representative for Liberty Mutual’s Lake Oswego office. “We commend his approach and lifetime of service, and hope that our award and grant can help him reach even more Portland families in years to come.”
As part of the Liberty Mutual National Firemark Award, Porth will receive a trip to Liberty Mutual’s “Where’s the Fire?”TM attraction at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida. Also created in 2004 – and built with an educational mission akin to the Safety Learning Center – the attraction is the largest of its kind in the United States; a 4,000 square-foot exhibit designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in cooperation with Liberty Mutual's fire safety specialists and the U.S. Fire Administration.
About the Liberty Mutual Firemark Award
The Liberty Mutual Firemark Award is presented annually to U.S. firefighters who best represent their communities through courageous acts and who best demonstrate the firefighter’s selfless spirit. The award takes its name from the firemark, a leaden plate in the form of a Phoenix rising from the ashes, which American fire offices in the 18th and 19th centuries used to mark all the houses they insured. The firemark stood as a guarantee to all fire brigades that the insurance company that insured the house in question would reward handsomely the brigade extinguishing a fire on the premises.
Liberty Mutual National Firemark Award winners are chosen from a pool of nominees who have received local awards from a Liberty Mutual office in their community throughout the year by a committee comprised of numerous fire safety organizations; including the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the National Fire Protection Association, the National Association of State Fire Marshals, and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.
Fire departments and local residents can nominate a firefighter for a local Liberty Mutual Firemark Award at http://www.befiresmart.com, an educational website created by Liberty Mutual for parents, children, educators, and firefighters, featuring engaging videos, lesson plans for teachers, and interactive games on fire safety and prevention.
About Liberty Mutual
''Helping people live safer, more secure lives'' since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group (http://www.LibertyMutualGroup.com) is a global insurer and fifth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2008 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 86th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2008 revenue. The company has over 45,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world. Liberty Mutual has more than 1,000 employees in 15 offices in Oregon, including locations in Portland and Lake Oswego.
The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (http://www.LibertyMutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 12,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.
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