One Match Can Start A Fire!

So, the other night my honey and I went for a walk. On our way home I could suddenly hear the sound of sticks being banged together and a voice on a loud speaker and then people repeating what he said. It was weird as I have never seen this in 10 years. These kids and a few adults were walking around yelling "Hinoyoujin matchi ippon kazi no motto" which means "one match can start a fire".Okaayyy.....what? Why, I asked him, do they go around banging sticks together and yelling this? He said it is a community service to warn the neighbors to be careful because the winter air is dry so if a fire starts it will burn faster than normal. Then he told me that they repeat the above sentence 3 x and then they say " okasan gasu no mottosen kiotsukete. Otosan netabako yamemashou" which means "mother check the gas (many houses still use kerosene heaters). Father don't fall asleep smoking". This is beyond odd because in this country...they may go around yelling to be careful about matches and checking gas but no one has a smoke alarm in their house!!