Submitted Photo
Sparky the Fire Dog and Kelli Ireland, Fire and Life Safety Educator, pose for a photo.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Fire Prevention week runs Oct. 6-12 and the focus this year shines a light on a common household fixture that many take for granted in smoke detectors and how to best use them.
The theme is a good one, said Kelli Ireland, fire and life safety educator, since the smoke alarms are the first line of defence in any home.
“Roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes, and those are homes that don’t have a smoking alarm at all, or they don’t have working smoke alarms,” said Ireland. “So just having a working smoke alarm cuts the risk of fire deaths by 54 per cent.”
In order to ensure that these devices work when they’re needed, it’s recommended that they’re tested once a month to make sure they’re responsive, and that they’re replaced with a new one every 10 years.
As irritating as it can be to have the smoke detectors go off while cooking or after a shower, said Ireland, this is a sign that your alarm will be responsive and warn you when you need it most.
“We recommend having a smoke alarm and CO combo device, which actually now they’re putting them in one device,” said Ireland. “We recommend having one of those combo devices on every level of the home. And then if you can have a battery operated smoke alarm in all of the bedrooms, that’s the goal.”
Alarms can either be hard-wired into the home or battery operated, and either are effective. Ireland said that the wired ones can be ideal as an option, as if one is set off, they will all go off, which can alert family members on different levels of the home, but battery operated ones are still better than no alarm.
“In the case of an emergency, there’s going to be a bit of panic. People are going to feel a little bit chaotic and stressed out, and so having that ability for those smoke alarms to be interconnected is just that extra protection,” said Ireland.
She recommends considering alarms with a flashing light option in homes where one or several of the members may have trouble hearing, as this can alert them.
Ireland will be visiting 23 schools in the coming week to speak about fire safety and prevention.
“Fire prevention is not just one week of the year. Fire prevention is something that all of us can practice every day in our own homes, in our workplaces,” said Ireland.
She encourages people to go online, medicinehat.ca/fire for information or to reach out to the Fire & Emergency Services, and she highlighted that they do offer a free home inspection to make sure that resident homes are safe.
