Members of the After the Fire program have attended more than 250 homes since July. The service has ramped up its community outreach and fire prevention education by creating a new role focused on developing and implementing fire safety.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
More local firefighters are going door-to-door to connect with members of the community who have recently experienced a residential fire in their neighbourhood to talk about fire safety and answer any concerns they may have about the recent fire.
The “After the Fire” program has ramped up its services and has visited more than 250 homes throughout August and September after the fire service created the new role of Fire and Life Safety Educator to expand fire prevention and education throughout Medicine Hat.
Within one or two weeks of a fire, depending on the scale and investigation, a team of firefighters including fire safety educators as well as investigators and suppression crews who dealt with the fire will visit homes to provide smoke alarm checks and provide a free home safety assessment and educational materials.
“If there’s a fire in your area, we are here to talk and we’re here if you need us,” says Kelli Ireland, fire and life safety educator.
The After the Fire team is joined by the chief or assistant deputy chief who will be able to provide residents specific answers from members who were on the scene of the fire and are conducting the investigation.
“This is your source of truth,” explains Ireland. “It can be stressful for neighbours, they could be thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, are the people around me being safe?’ This is a way to connect the dots for people, make them feel less stressed and answer questions.”
If the investigation has concluded, Ireland says firefighters will be able to provide residents the cause of how the fire started and if it was started on purpose or by accident.
“If the investigation comes back and we have a reason for the fire, we’re going to share that with the neighbours so that they know it wasn’t on purpose or there is not an arsonist in the neighbourhood.,” says Ireland. “Here are the facts and here’s what you can do to prevent it in the future.”
Fire prevention is an important service firefighters provide to the community. Since July crews have attended nine structure fires, 45 outdoor fires and 107 fire alarm calls.
Ireland says the service is proactively expanding its public education around fire prevention through its After the Fire program that includes a free smoke alarm check, home safety checklist and will perform a free home safety assessment to help prevent future fire.
“We’re here to support you if you need anything,” says Ireland. “If you want us to come and check your smoke alarms, if you want us to perform a life safety check on your home, we’re here to do that and we’re going to do that for no cost. We’re going to make sure that you are safe in your own home.”
If members of the After the Fire program attend your home while away, they will leave educational materials at your door as well as contact information, and will be happy to return at a later time.
“We still leave information because we think it’s valuable, we’re here to talk and we’re here if you need us,” says Ireland. “This initiative is really just meant to remind people that a fire can happen to anyone, it can happen in the blink of an eye and it can impact people. You just have to take precautionary measures and that first line of defence in any home is your smoke alarm.”
Ireland, who previously worked as corporate communications specialist for the city, assumed the new role at the end of July and has been focusing on developing and implementing innovative fire safety and prevention programs for school, community groups, businesses and seniors through presentations, workshops and training sessions.
