Fire Prevention Week: Look, Listen, Learn: Fire can happen anywhere
The Moose Jaw Fire Department is encouraging everyone in the community to Look. Listen. Learn as they increase awareness about the dangers of fire and increasing fire prevention for Fire Prevention Week, October 7-13. The Fire Department hosted an open house at the South Hill Fire Hall with over 100 students and members of the community attending to learn more about fire prevention. People got an opportunity to receive guided tours of the fire trucks, watch fire safety videos and see firemen in their gears as they receive a wealth of information on how to prevent fires.
Fire Prevention Week highlights three steps people can take to quickly and safely escape a fire:
- Look for places fire could start
- Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm
- Learn two ways out of every room
“Working in the fire service for many years, we know that people often make choices in fire situations that jeopardize their safety or even cost them their lives,” said Cathie Bassett, Public Education Officer with the MJFD. “We need to do a better job of teaching people about the potentially life-saving difference escape planning and practice can make and motivating them to action,” Bassett said. She further explained this year’s theme. “Basically, what we’re asking people to do through our theme is to LOOK for fire hazards in the home. That can be anything from a blocked exit to just being extra careful while cooking; look for those hazards before the fire starts. We also want people to LISTEN for their smoke alarms, ensuring that they are working, and they are not too old. Fire alarms should be replaced every 10 years; check smoke alarms every month, as well as checking your Carbon Monoxide alarms, especially because we’re going into winter. We want to make sure people are checking both of those to ensure they are working properly. We also want persons to LEARN their escape plans. Everyone should go throughout their house, ensure there are two ways out of a room; that should be a window and door. Everyone in the family should also know how to escape out of their homes. Persons should make an escape plan with their family; have a meeting place outside where everyone knows where it is and subsequently call 911. My advice to families is to practice these escape plans in the day and at night so everyone can become good at it.”
Fire Chief for the City of Moose Jaw, Rod Montgomery says this week’s main goal is education, especially directed toward younger children. “This week is really about bringing more awareness to the community. This openhouse today gives people an opportunity to see what we do here and to see what their tax dollars provide for them, but this is also about education. Education is our main focus this week. The theme, Look, Listen, Learn is about making sure your smoke alarms work and that people know the dangers of fire. Certainly, our target audience are younger children to ensure they learn about safety tips and to reflect on the dangers of fire,” said Chief Montgomery.
He noted that cooking fires is the cause to a lot of fires they attend to in the community, so he is appealing to people to be extra cautious and aware. “Cooking fires is a big thing so we want people to just be aware, have lids to cover pots and pans while you’re cooking etc. but one of the most important things to ensure that’s working properly is smoke alarms. Safety is a shared responsibility and certainly, the most important person responsible for your safety is yourself. So, make sure that your surroundings are equipped with smoke alarms because early detection is the key in fire prevention.”