Fire prevention week

Sun Peaks Fire Rescue (SPFR) is teaming up with National Fire Protection Association from October 9 to 15, 2011 to let the community know—It’s Fire Prevention Week. Protect your Family from Fire!

This campaign focuses on the leading causes of home fires—cooking, heating and electrical equipment, candles and smoking materials. It urges people to protect their homes and families with life-saving technology and planning.

“In B.C., 83 people were injured or died in home fires last year,” says Colin Cannon, fire prevention officer for SPFR. “Nearly all of these deaths could’ve been prevented by taking a few simple precautions like having working smoke alarms and a home fire escape plan, keeping things that can burn away from the stove and always turning off space heaters before going to bed.”

Staying in the kitchen when food is being prepared, keeping children and combustibles away from heat sources, smoking outside and disposing of cigarettes safely, and never using candles in places where they’re able to ignite materials or be forgotten are some tips that SPFR offers.

SPFR urges families to develop, and practice, a fire escape plan, and equip homes with smoke alarms and sprinklers, test them regularly, and practice using them.

“While preventing home fires in Sun Peaks is always our number one priority, it’s not always possible,” Cannon says. “Sun Peaks’ residents need to provide the best protection to keep their homes and families safe in the event of a fire. This can be achieved by developing an escape plan which you practice regularly and equipping homes with life-saving technologies like smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers.”

Sun Peaks Fire Rescue will be teaching fire prevention to the children attending the Discover Centre facility to promote It’s Fire Prevention Week.