Firefighters were out spreading the message of fire safety for Fire Prevention Week Oct. 7-13.
“The meat and potatoes of fire prevention…is we want people to know smoke alarms save lives.
“We want to educate them on what CO detectors are…and we want people to have the ability to know how to get out of their house safely and with their family in case of an emergency,” said Chestermere Fire Services (CFS) Firefighter Jake Gallinger.
As part of CFS’s promotion of fire safety, fire crews visited our schools in Chestermere to talk to students about fire safety.
“It’s important that education is pushed on fire safety because I think not only are the kids going to be educated on it but in turn they can educate their parents,” said Gallinger.
“And they can be the voice of fire prevention in their homes if given the tools,” he said.
Firefighters spoke to students about fire safety, when its appropriate to call 911, about home escape plans, and demonstrated what a firefighter wears when fighting a fire.
Gallinger stressed the importance of having a home escape plan.
“Always make sure you have two ways out of your home, whether you’re living in the basement or you live upstairs,” he said, “you never know where the fire’s going to develop from.”
Since where a fire will start is unpredictable, knowing how to safely get out of the home regardless of where the fire is and where a person is, is important.
“We always say, have a minimum of two ways out of your home,” said Gallinger.
In newer build homes, bedrooms are commonly located on the second floor, which can make evacuation tricky in the case of a fire or emergency.
Having a safe way to get out if the fire is coming up the stairs can be difficult but is possible.
Home escape ladders or rope can be used to evacuate the building through a second story window.
“Those are the kinds of things we want people thinking of,” said Gallinger.
When it comes to being safe in the home, it’s important to have working smoke detectors.
Gallinger recommends testing the batteries and alarm at least twice a year with daylight savings.
“You’re supposed to be testing your smoke detectors monthly but if it’s easy to remember testing and checking the batteries or changing the batteries when the time changes,” he said.
As the time change is coming soon so too is winter.
With the change in seasons, Gallinger said that the most common causes of residential fires are space heaters and cooking.
He recommends that people make sure not to overload outlets with too many devices and ensure there is sufficient space around heat sources such as a space heater.
