Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service has Important Reminders for Residents during Fire Prevention Week
From October 9 to October 15, Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week (FPW).
Each year, in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, FPW is observed by fire services across North America during the week of October 9.
This year’s FPW theme is “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.” The goal of the campaign is to educate everyone about simple but important actions they can take to keep themselves and those around them safe from residential fires.
“Today’s homes burn faster than ever. You may have as little as two minutes, or even less time, to safely escape a home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Your ability to get out of a home during a fire depends on early warning from smoke alarms and advanced planning,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of Outreach and Advocacy at NFPA.
Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service encourages all residents to embrace this year’s theme, “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape” in order to best prepare their households in case of a fire.
“It’s important for everyone to plan and practice a home fire escape. Everyone needs to be prepared in advance, so that they know what to do when the smoke alarm sounds,” said Terry Jones, Fire Chief, Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service. “Have a plan for everyone in the home. Children, older adults, and people with disabilities may need assistance to wake up and get out, so be sure to take that into account when creating your plan.”
In an effort to encourage residents to plan ahead, Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Services, is having a home fire escape plan contest. All residents are invited to enter the contest by creating a home fire escape plan and submitting it online here.
Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service wants to share these key home fire escape planning tips:
Make sure your plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.
Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home. When possible, smoke alarms should be interconnected so when one sounds, they all sound.
Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows open easily.
Have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home where everyone should meet.
Practice your home fire drill at least twice a year with everyone in the household, including guests. Practice at least once during the day and at night.
Important Fire Prevention Reminders:
Fire Prevention starts with the three lines of defense:
Public education and prevention – working smoke alarms and safety plans
Fire safety standards and enforcement
Emergency response (fire suppression)
In their Fire Prevention Week press release the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) says that planning and practicing your home fire escape plan is vital to keeping your family safe in the event of an emergency. On average, Ontarians believe they have five minutes to evacuate a house fire. The grim reality is in most cases you have 60 seconds or less.
"Having working smoke alarms on every storey of your home, along with planning and practicing your home fire escape plan consistently is the best way to ensure your entire household is prepared to safely escape in an emergency," said Fire Marshal Jon Pegg. "When faced with a fire in your home, it is already far too late to plan a safe route out."
To further emphasize the importance of having working fire alarms in your home, the OFM recently launched their Cause For Alarm video campaign.
Warning: the following video contains content that may be disturbing to some. This chilling audio, although fictitious, reveals the mere seconds you have in the event of a fire. That missing sound could be the difference between life and death. View the powerful video here.
To find out more about FPW programs and activities in Kawartha Lakes head over to the Kawartha Lakes FPW page, and follow @KLFireRescue.
If you’re interested in joining the Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue Service as a Volunteer Firefighter head to our recruitment page. To learn a little bit more about being a Volunteer Firefighter in Kawartha Lakes, view this recent Global News Peterborough story.
For more general information about Fire Prevention Week and fire prevention in general, visit www.fpw.org and www.sparky.org.
