Fire

It takes only seconds before your life and the life of your loved ones is in jeopardy.  Prepare yourself and your family on how to respond in a fire.  Ensure you have taken the proper precautions to protect your family; have made members of your household aware of your evacuation plan; and taught your children fire safety rules.

In the event of a fire one of the most important things you can do to ensure you have time to get you and your loved ones out of the home is to ensure that you have working smoke alarms, it is the law.  These should be placed on every floor of the house; in the hall outside of every bedroom or within the bedroom itself.  Remember that smoke rises so they need to be located on the ceiling and should be checked every month to ensure they are working properly.  Consider replacing the batteries when you adjust your clocks for daylight savings time.

With your warning system in place (working smoke alarms) you need to ensure that your family knows what to do when they hear one sound.  The creation of an evacuation plan will help ensure that members of your household know where the exits are, how to get out safely and where to meet afterwards. If you have a second floor on your dwelling consider installing a non-combustible escape ladder.  Your meeting place should be out front of the house where others can see you and tend to you if needed; but safely away from the fire and the street where there is traffic and emergency crews will be gathering.  Practice the plan; keep escape routes clear; make sure children know what to do.

Innisfil Fire and Rescue Services works with local schools and organizations to help teach children about Fire Safety.  You may wish to contact them for further information on keeping them safe.

Consider taking the Ontario Fire Marshal’s survey to see how well prepared you are.  If you need more information on protecting your family from a fire you can find it on the website for the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office or the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council.  Both sites provide a great deal of information on how to help ensure your house and loved ones are safe.  Some of the tips provided include Safe Heating, Safety in the Kitchen, Storage of Gasoline, Carbon Monoxide, Surviving a Fire in Your Home as well as other planning information.