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Fire Prevention Week is a good time to prepare

October 9, 2017   ·   0 Comments

You and your family are fast asleep when the smoke alarm sounds. Do you know what to do?
Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 8 to 14, and it’s the perfect time for Caledon Fire and Emergency Services to remind all households to develop a home escape plan together and practise it. A plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom and near all sleeping areas. It also includes two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window, with a clear path to an outside meeting place (like a tree, light pole, or mailbox) — a safe distance from the home.
“In a typical home fire, you may have as little as a few minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds,” Fire Chief Darryl Bailey observed. “That’s why home escape planning is so critical in a fire situation. It ensures that everyone in the household knows how to use that small window of time wisely. This pre-planning is what everyone will draw upon to snap into action and escape as quickly as possible in the event of a fire.”
Home escape planning is one of the most basic, but fundamental, elements of home fire safety and can make the difference between life and death in a fire.
Consider these additional tips and recommendations for developing and practising a home escape plan:
• Draw a map of your home with all members of your household, marking two exits from each room and a path to the outside from each exit.
• Practise your home fire drill twice a year. Conduct one at night and one during the day with everyone in your home, and practise using different ways out.
• Teach children how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them.
• Make sure the number of your home is clearly marked and easy for the fire department to find.
• Close doors behind you as you leave — this may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire.
• Once you get outside, stay outside. Never go back inside a burning building.
“Where’s Sparky?” contest
To keep fire safety top of mind, Caledon Fire and Emergency Services will be hosting a number of open houses at various fire stations, along with an online contest — “Where’s Sparky?” — during Fire Prevention Week. “Where’s Sparky?” will test Caledon residents to correctly name Sparky’s location and be entered in a draw to win prizes.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week activities in Caledon and the “Where’s Sparky” contest, visit www.caledon/fire
Open Houses
Open houses are scheduled for October to recognize Fire Prevention Week. Residents are invited to attend and enjoy a complimentary pancake breakfast while learning more about general fire safety, making a home escape plan and house trailer safety.
They will be Oct. 7 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Bolton station at 28 Ann St.; Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Valleywood station at 2 Snelcrest Dr.; Oct. 14 from 7 to 11 a.m. at the Alton station at 19630 Main St.; and Oct. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Palgrave station at 17177 Regional Road 50.

         

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