The 30A 10K & 1 Mile Fun Run is raising funds this year to save lives and property in South Walton County.

Nearly $2.4 million in property damages occurred last year due to fires in South Walton. Knowing how to use a fire extinguisher could help save lives and property, but far too few people know how to use them.

This year, the 30A 10K Thanksgiving Day race in Rosemary Beach is looking to help change that.

The race is raising funds to purchase a state-of-the-art fire extinguisher training system for the South Walton Fire District.

This new system will vastly expand the number of people the fire district can teach to use fire extinguishers. It will allow the fire district to conduct a training for any business, health care or child care facility or community group in South Walton.

“By having fire extinguisher knowledge, anyone can potentially stop a small fire from spreading into a large fire,” said Fire Marshall Sammy Sanchez. “This can reduce loss of life, property damages and certainly reduces loss of business income.”

The South Walton Fire District provided fire extinguisher training to more than 2,000 workers in South Walton last year. But one of their biggest obstacles to training more people is that their current system must be used outside and is contingent on weather conditions.

Sanchez discovered a better solution and with the help of funds raised through the 30A 10K the district will soon be able to train many more people and potentially save more lives.

The “Bulls Eye” Laser-Driven Fire Extinguisher Training System allows the Fire District to train the public in any location, indoors or out, quickly and without a mess.

The system electronically simulates the sight and sounds of a real fire and allows trainees to use a “laser” fire extinguisher to practice putting out the fire. The LED flames and laser extinguisher are easy to set up, clean up and use repeatedly for practice.

After a training session, participants can see their accuracy and response time.

“Fire has no boundaries, fire is not racist, fire does not care how much money you have or don’t have. Fire destroys everything it reaches,” Sanchez said. “Our job is to stop fires before they happen. If that cannot be accomplished, then at the very least, we can limit the dangers and the damages by arming our customers with fire extinguisher knowledge and know how. This is the sole reason this fire extinguisher system is important to South Walton Fire District and all of our customers that we serve.”

The 30A 10K & 1 Mile Fun Run is a 501c3 event held on Thanksgiving Day in Rosemary Beach. The mission of the event is to raise funds for local charities.

This year, in addition to the South Walton Fire District, the race is raising money to support Anchorage Children’s Home, The Walton County Sheriff’s Department’s Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Northwest Florida Guardian ad Litem Foundation.

For more info on volunteering or sponsorship opportunities, or to register, visit 30A10K.com.