Fire Safety in the Home

Did you know that most fatal house fires occur during sleeping hours (10:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.), giving people little time to react? Be prepared and be safe!

Please take the time to view 'No Time to Spare'. It includes exceptional footage of a fatal fire re-creation.

• No Time to Spare - Fatal Fire Re-creation
  (.9MB wmv video)

Causes of Fires

Common causes of fires at home include:

• Careless smoking
• Improperly installed or improperly maintained wood stoves
• Faulty wiring
• Careless use of cooking equipment
• Careless use of flammable liquids

Preventing Fires at Home

• Install smoke alarms.
• Have a home escape plan.
• Install fire extinguishers.
• Plan your escape route.

What to do if a fire occurs in your home

• Stay low since smoke rises, leaving fresh air at floor level
• Do not open doors or windows that indicate signs of heat or smoke seepage
• Stop, drop and roll if your clothing catches on fire
• Once you are safe, call 911, from the nearest phone
• Do not re-enter the building

Facts about Fire Safety

• Fires can double in size approximately every 30 - 60 seconds. (A $20,000 kitchen fire can become a $160,000 house fire in less than three minutes.)
• In eight minutes a fire can grow by 64 times.
• Progression of a structural fire to the point of "flashover" (the very rapid spreading of the fire due to super heating of the room contents and other combustibles) generally occurs in seven to ten minutes.
• For medical aid calls, basic life support should be initiated within four minutes.
• A reduction of only two to three minutes in the completion of a rescue operation could increase a fire victim's survivability by eight times.
• A minimum acceptable staffing level consists of four fire fighters on the first responding pumper.
• Fire fighting has been and always will be labour intensive. Reducing fire fighters equates to reducing levels of service, which equates to a lower level of safety.
• As response times increase, public safety decreases.

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