HALTON HILLS, ON – The Halton Hills Fire Department is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week ™ (FPW), October 9-15, 2022. This year’s FPW campaign, “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape ™”, works to educate everyone about simple but important actions they can take to keep themselves and those around them safe from home fires.
“Today’s homes burn faster than ever. You may have as little as two minutes (or even less time) to safely escape a home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Your ability to get out of a home during a fire depends on early warning from smoke alarms and advance planning,” said Lorraine Carli, Vice President of Outreach and Advocacy at NFPA.
The Halton Hills Fire Department encourages all residents to embrace the 2022 Fire Prevention Week theme.
“It’s important for everyone to plan and practice a home fire escape. Everyone needs to be prepared in advance, so that they know what to do when the smoke alarm sounds. Given that every home is different, every home fire escape plan will also be different,” said Fire Chief Jon Rehill. “Have a plan for everyone in the home. Children, older adults, and people with disabilities may need assistance to wake up and get out. Make sure that someone will help them!”
Review these key home fire escape planning tips:
Make sure your plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.
Smoke alarms must be installed outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home. If your home was built in or after 2014 you must also have smoke alarms in every bedroom.
Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows open easily.
Have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home where everyone can meet.
Practice your home fire drill at least twice a year with everyone in the household, including guests. Practice at least once during the day and at night.
The Halton Hills Fire Department will have displays set up at local hardware stores from Oct 11th to Oct 18th to support this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign. Visit these displays to pick up important information on how to create a Home Fire Escape Plan for your home. Staff will visit these displays throughout the week to speak with the community about fire safety. To find out when the displays will be staffed, follow the Halton Hills Fire Department on Twitter, @HaltonHillsFD.
For general information about Fire Prevention Week and fire prevention in general, visit fpw.organd sparky.org.
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