A grim reality behind a fire truck adventure
On day of open house, a sad statistic: six people died in fires this year
The lure of being able to climb aboard a fire truck and see what it’s like to be a firefighter drew many families to Hamilton Fire Department’s open house Monday — but the department hopes it’s a fire safety message that everyone took home.
“Home is where you feel safest ... we don’t think anything will ever happen to us,” Hamilton Fire Chief David Cunliffe told a crowd at the multi-agency training academy at 1227 Stone Church Rd. E. as part of the launch of Fire Prevention Week.
But fires do happen, and the fire department wants the public to do more to prevent fires and have plans in place to react more safely.
Hamilton has had six fire deaths so far this year, including the latest this past Friday when a 42-year-old man was found unresponsive inside his 16th-floor apartment unit at 95 Hess St. S.
There were 11 fire deaths in Hamilton in 2016, which marked a significant jump from previous years that typically saw two to four deaths.
“One fire death is too many,” said public safety information officer Claudio Mostacci.
The Thanksgiving Monday open house also featured demonstrations of high-angle rope rescues, auto extrication where firefighters cut open cars to free trapped people after collisions, and demonstrations on how to put out a car fire. Fire stations across Hamilton also opened their doors to the public Monday morning.
Other activities throughout the week also include school visits and Camp FFIT (female firefighters in training) — a three-day
program that shows young women 16 to 19 what it’s like to be a firefighter.
In Hamilton, most fires are preventable, with careless smoking and unattended cooking being the top two causes of the 216 residential fires the department responded to last year.
And with properly working smoke alarms and fire escape plans most fire deaths are also preventable, Mostacci said.
In Friday’s fire, 911 calls came in around 1:24 a.m. after smoke alarms went off in the CityHousing Hamilton apartment building.
Firefighters found a “well-involved” fire in the unit and found the man with no vital signs. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
The fire caused about $20,000 damage to that unit. The Ontario Fire Marshal says the investigation is ongoing. Other deaths this year: On June 15 Halla Elamein and two of her children in their 20s, Sammy and Sarah Khalil, died after being overcome by smoke from the fire that began in the basement of their 36 Laird Dr. home — a CityHousing Hamilton property.
The OFM investigation revealed the fire was started by smoking material that smouldered.
On May 1, three-year-old Cayden Decker-Landry was pulled from the basement at 240 Golden Orchard Dr. on the west Mountain. He was rushed to hospital by ambulance but was later pronounced dead.
On Aug. 4 a woman died in a shed fire on Robina Road in Ancaster. This fire was not suspicious.
On Feb. 21, a 79-year-old Hamilton man was pronounced dead at the scene of an apartment fire at 191 Main St. W. The fire was ruled accidental, caused by smoking while on oxygen. However, the man died from a medical issue before the fire broke out, so this is not counted as a fire death, Mostacci said.
The fire department recommends everyone make sure they have working smoke alarms on every level of their home, have a fire escape plan that includes practising twice a year and a planned meeting place outside a home.
Never try to put out a fire yourself, don’t run back in a building or break windows or doors to get in — as oxygen can fuel a fire — and don’t jump from upper stories unless its absolutely necessary, Mostacci said.
The fire department response times are pretty good in Hamilton and people are more help outside the fire where they can direct the professionals to where they can find people, he said.
Following this advice “is going to save your life,” he said.