Safe and Warm

  • Keep space heaters at least 1 metre (3 feet) away from walls, sofas, and anything else that can burn.
  • Ensure your chimney has been inspected or cleaned in the past 12 months.
  • Get a screen for your fireplace to catch sparks
  • Ensure your heating system is professionally serviced every 12 months.

Smoking Materials

  • Encourage smokers to smoke outside.
  • Keep matches and lighters locked up and out of sight and reach of children
  • Invest in large, deep, heavy ashtrays

Hazardous Materials

  • Keep paints, gasoline and other flammable liquids stored away from flames and sparks.
  • Store gasoline outside the home in a separate shed or garage.
  • Keep your storage area free of oily rags, used paint, or varnish rags.

House Wiring

  • Make sure the tripping points of your fuses or breakers match the capacity of the circuits they protect (have them inspected professionally).
  • Protected bathroom and kitchen wall outlets by ground-fault circuit-interrupters (GFCIs)
  • Invest in arc-fault circuit-interrupters (AFCIs). Although currently only mandatory in bedroom wiring in new homes, these are an added safety feature that detect abnormal arcing in a circuit.

Kitchen Tips

  • Stay in the kitchen at all times when using the stove.
  • Keep your stovetop clear of grease, spills, and clutter.
  • Turn pot handles towards the back of the stove.

Keeping Your Family Safe from Fire

  • Ensure smoke alarms are installed on every level of your home and in each sleeping area.
  • Ensure your smoke alarms work. Test them once a month and replace batteries once a year.
  • Make sure everyone in your home knows the sound of the smoke alarm.
  • If you have people in your home who are deaf or hard of hearing, invest in alarms with flashing lights.
  • If your smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, replace them.
  • Develop a home fire escape plan, and practice it every six months.
  • Consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your home. Sprinklers can contain or put out a fire in less time than it takes the fire department to arrive.

If you have any questions on the above or other fire safety issues, please contact the Fire Prevention Officer by email jlonghurst@pelham.ca or phone 905-892-2607 x202.

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