Practice your home fire escape plan during Fire Prevention Week

HAMILTON, ON - October 4, 2017 - The Hamilton Fire Department is urging families in Hamilton to practice their home fire escape plan as part of Fire Prevention Week. This year’s theme of Fire Prevention Week, which runs from October 8-14, 2017, is “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!”

“Fire and smoke move faster than you,” said Fire Chief David Cunliffe.  “There’s no time to figure out how to escape your home AFTER a fire starts. Practice an escape plan BEFORE there’s a fire so you can get out safely.”

Steps for home fire escape planning

In a fire, you may have just seconds to safely escape your home. Be prepared in advance with these simple steps for home fire escape planning:

• Assess the needs of everyone in your home. Identify anyone who requires assistance to get out of the home safely, such as small children or older adults.
• Make sure that you have working smoke alarms on every storey of the home and outside all sleeping areas. Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm.
• Identify all possible exits (doors and windows) and make sure they work. Know two ways out of all areas, if possible.
• Everyone must know what to do when the smoke alarm sounds. Assign someone to help those who need assistance. Identify a safe meeting place outside. Call the fire department from outside the home – from a neighbour’s home or a cell phone.
• Practice your home fire escape plan at least twice a year.  Have everyone participate. Make changes to your plan if necessary.

Fire Prevention Week events

The Hamilton Fire Department will also be holding a number of events throughout the week to raise public awareness about Fire Prevention Week and the importance of fire safety. These are some of the planned activities:

• Monday, October 9, 2017: Fire Prevention week begins with an open house at all 26 of our Fire Stations. The open house will take place from 10 am to 12 noon. Citizens will have an opportunity to tour the station, view the fire trucks and speak to fire-fighters about fire safety. Please bring a non-perishable food donation for our community food banks.
• Monday, October 9, 2017: Open house at our Multi-Agency Training Academy (MATA), located at 1227 Stonechurch Road East from 1:30 till 3:30 pm. The public will have an opportunity to tour our state of the art training facility, view equipment utilized by firefighters, speak to fire-fighters about fire safety and witness a display by firefighters on various jobs they perform during their emergency calls.
• Wednesday, October 11 2017: Fire Inspectors will be at McMaster University Student Center from 10 am till 12 noon where they will be available to speak to students about fire safety in their residence or rental property.
• Thursday October 12, 2017: A learning opportunity for our media partners and members of city council at the Multi-Agency Training Academy (MATA), located at 1227 Stonechurch Road East from 1 till 3:30 pm. Participants will have an opportunity to learn first-hand about the job of a Hamilton firefighter, experience what it is like to wear full firefighting gear, conduct a search and rescue evolution, extinguish a car fire, climb an aerial ladder and enter a smoke filled building wearing full bunker gear and breathing apparatus. 
• Monday October 2, 2017 to Friday October 13, 2017: The Hamilton Fire Department will be visiting 10 elementary schools and utilizing the Fire Safety Trailer to deliver fire safety education to the students. 

For more information on the above noted events and fire safety, contact our Fire Prevention Division at 905 546-2424 ext.1380, weekdays between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, visit www.hamilton.ca/fire or follow us on Twitter @hamiltonfiredep