This week is Fire Prevention Week. This year’s theme is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you.”
The City of Lethbridge’s Chief Fire Marshal Troy Hicks from Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services says as time goes on, the importance of a smoke detector grows more and more.
“Due to the fact of the different types of materials people have in their homes. Maybe 20 years ago we had a lot more time to get out once that smoke detector went off. Now, that time is not very much. You might have one or two minutes to get out of your home,” Hicks explains.
According to Hicks, a smoke detector should be mounted on every floor of your home. “As well as in every sleeping quarters and in the hallway outside of those sleeping quarters.”
Smoke detectors are either battery-operated or hard-wired, notes Hicks. “Make sure you double check. The majority are hard-wired with a battery back-up. Even though they’re hard-wired, they could still be beeping. It will beep every few minutes. It will either mean the detector is expired or the battery is going.”
Stickers are located on the back of a smoke detector with its expiry date.
“They have a life expectancy of 10 years. If it’s expired, you need to replace the detector,” says Hicks. “If they’re hard-wired, I highly recommend you replace them with the same brand name of smoke detector.”
Hicks says smoke detectors should be checked once a month with the detector’s “test” button. “You want to give it a quick test to make sure it works.”
Another tip, Hicks adds, is to replace the batteries in smoke detectors once a year. “Myself personally, in the fall when I change my clocks, I change my batteries.”
Everybody should also be practising emergency evacuation plans, says Hicks. “Just know what to do. With the little ones, they do fire drills in school. For parents and caregivers, I recommend talking to the children. Make sure they understand what’s going on.”
“Make sure they don’t think the smoke detector is just because dad’s cooking again and it’s dad’s timer for his cooking,” Hicks jokes. “We need to make sure when that detector goes off, they’re prepared to evacuate like they need to.”
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, as families gather to eat a feast, which requires a lot of action in the kitchen and hours of cooking.
“Don’t leave your home unattended when cooking your turkey or ham. If you’re cooking, someone should be home. This is a great time to give your oven a good clean, so it’s ready to go this weekend when you have family over,” says Hicks.
Another good thing to remember when cooking is “make sure you don’t have loose clothing,” adds Hicks.
“It’s so easy to knock over a pan and your shirt catch fire or anything like that. When you’re cooking set up a little barrier, so your young children or pets can’t come in. You don’t need that trip hazard. That can lead to a fire or could lead to a lot of burn injuries. Just be very careful when you’re cooking,” says Hicks.
LFES is hosting a “Fire Chief for a Day” colouring contest, as part of Fire Prevention Week.
Children 12 and under are encouraged to participate by submitting their completed colouring sheets for a chance to win. The winner will have an opportunity to serve as fire chief for a day. Entries must be submitted by Oct. 20.
Colouring sheets can be picked up at the Lethbridge Public Library or it can be downloaded from lethbridge.ca/fire.
