Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public on the precautions that should be taken to prevent potentially harmful fires from occurring. It is a proactive method of preventing fire-based emergencies and reducing the damage caused by them. Fire prevention education can take the form of videos, pamphlets, and banners. Often, the messages and lessons are simple tips. Many fire departments will have one or more Fire Prevention Officers, which may also be a routine duty of firefighters.

The National Fire Protection Association identifies that 3 out of 5 deaths that occur during fires happen in homes that do not have smoke detectors installed or homes that do not have working smoke detectors. Research shows that the chances of dying in a fire are cut in half when smoke detectors are present. It is recognized that 74 percent of homes do have working smoke detectors installed.

Generally taught more to adults (particularly homeowners), a core part of fire prevention outreach involves encouraging people to ensure that they have an adequate number of smoke detectors installed in their home and how to maintain them.

A wet-pipe sprinkler system is an automatic sprinkler system in which the supply valves are open and the system is charged with water. They are the quickest at getting water on the fire and are the simplest to maintain. Wet-pipe systems are installed where indoor temperatures can be maintained at or above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 °C). If the outside temperature is below freezing and the interior temperature is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the steel sprinkler piping, which rapidly conducts heat and rapidly loses it, will cause the pipes to freeze. The frozen area may be isolated and near an opening or uninsulated portion of the building which could be enough to put the whole system out of service.

Much of fire prevention education also involves advice on how to reduce false alarms. False alarms have the potential to waste manpower and resources, which may be needed desperately during a real emergency. In addition, firefighters responding to calls in fire engines are at increased risk of traffic collisions when driving under emergency conditions. In 2008 the state of New York found that 18% of firefighter deaths in the line of duty had occurred whilst responding to calls.

Stop, drop and roll is often taught as part of fire protection education efforts as it is both a simple technique and an effective way of extinguishing burning clothing. It is particularly suited to children who may panic if their clothing catches fire and they do not know how to put it out.

These groups of people are those that are considered at higher risk for fires and should are the target of fire prevention education in a way to better protect them from fire emergencies. These are also target audience such as students that can benefit from the knowledge of how to prevent fires from starting in their homes.

Children are a major target of fire prevention knowledge. Firefighters will often visit schools and teach students the basics of fire protection and fire safety, including how to evacuate from a burning building and how to prevent fires by avoiding dangerous activities such as playing with matches. Though fire can be a source of fascination for young children, the potential for accidents, as a result, is high. Fire prevention often aims to teach children not to play with fire so that they do not accidentally cause one.