Fire Safety At Home; Important Tips during 3rd Provincial Lockdown
The importance of taking responsibility for fire safety in your own home has never been more important. According to the National Fire Protection Association, cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries in the U.S. According to Ontario’s statistics, unattended cooking also remains one of the leading causes of residential fires in Ontario. From 2010 to 2019 in Ontario, there were 110,811 fires with loss reported to the OFMEM. 47% of these fires occurred in Residential occupancies.
The above figures cover all kinds of fires, including those involving buildings and vehicles, but the vast majority involve residences. Already this year, Ontario is reporting 42 fire deaths. Thirty-two people died in fires in January and February, the highest toll for those two months since 1998. Realizing this unfortunate and preventable trend, it is an excellent opportunity to engage everyone at home, and review fire safety in the home.
Something to do with family members during the lockdown - I recommend getting your family together one Saturday afternoon - make it a COVID fire safety theme day - to review residential fire safety and to go over your fire escape plan.
Mark it on your family calendar and make it a family event;
Review placement of, and test smoke alarms on every floor, every bedroom and outside every sleeping area.
Ensure children are aware of the sound a smoke alarm makes – and the action to be taken if heard.
Mark down on family calendars to test smoke alarms and change batteries.
Review safe cooking practices with everyone. Inform children about the dangers of hot stoves, hot food / beverages, and the common appliances they most likely use on a day to day basis...but never stop to think about.
Review escape procedures from different rooms within the house. If you live in a high-rise condo or apartment, ensure your building's fire safety plan has the most up to date best practice procedures and engage your landlord or building management. Ask for a copy of the resident emergency procedures..
Proactively identify a safe place to meet outside in the event of an emergency evacuation. This way, you and your family members will quickly meet outside at the same location.
Review who to call in the event of an emergency – 911. In addition, in the event your family is separated and unable to meet at your residence, have a reporting or "call in" location to let everyone know your safe.
Verify the exterior house number is visible from the street allowing the fire department and Emergency Medical Services to clearly see your address. Is it visible at night?
Discuss with family members how Carbon Monoxide (CO) works, and what the alarms sound like - and the actions to take in the event they sound. A CO Alarm should be inside all homes.
Develop a home fire escape plan today…Download a free printable template from the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs website
From our family to yours - Be Safe.
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