Kingston Fire & Rescue To Hold Open Houses for Fire Prevention Week

Kingston Fire & Rescue is hosting two open houses featuring pancake breakfasts, station tours, and public education displays to celebrate Fire Prevention Week, October 9 to 15:

- Saturday, Oct. 8 at Station #8 in Glenburnie from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct.15 at Station #7 on Woodbine Road from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. A Junior Firefighter Challenge will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme is Protect Your Family from Fire.

Fire Inspector Tracey LeBlanc says, “Although events will focus on safe cooking, the importance of smoke alarms, and home fire escape planning – the underlying message is for all residents is to take responsibility for fire safety in their own homes.”

She notes that fires are growing bigger and moving faster because of the increasing amount of man-made products in homes.  Common items such as upholstered furniture, carpeting, plastic audio/video media and toys all contribute to intense fires.

To prevent fires, she recommends households consider the following:

- Watch your pots. The leading cause of residential fires in Ontario is unattended cooking. To prevent these fires from occurring, people need to stay in the kitchen while they cook.

- Test your smoke alarms. It’s the law in Ontario to have working smoke alarms on every storey of the home and outside all sleeping areas. Test your smoke alarms monthly and change the batteries when you change your clocks. Inspector LeBlanc says we should think of smoke alarms as seatbelts for the home – everyone hopes they’ll never need them; however they will be grateful they are working if there’s ever a fire.

- Practice a fire escape plan. It is imperative to determine who will be responsible for young children, older adults and others who may require assistance when creating a home fire escape plan for your household. Practice it regularly so that everyone knows what to do when the smoke alarm sounds.

“Taking responsibility for your family’s safety is important every day of the year. Take some extra time to ensure smoke alarms are working and practice a home fire escape plan, and always stay in the kitchen when you’re cooking – your lives depend on it,” says Le Blanc.

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Release source: City of Kingston

Tags: event, fire & rescue, Fire safety

Category: Releases