Bulky items collection

North Westside Road residents within the Central Okanagan will have a special opportunity to dispose of your unwanted bulky items.

Today through Thanksgiving Monday, Oct. 9,. during regular operating hours at the North Westside Road Transfer Station, those residents can dispose of large household items for a cost of $20 per truckload. This special disposal opportunity is available for residential items only, including appliances, scrap metal, lawn mowers and other motorized parts, household and lawn furniture. No hazardous waste (including computers and electronics) will be accepted. Unwanted fridges and freezers will be accepted at $15 per item, the freon decommissioning charge. (Cash or cheques are the only accepted method of payment.)

The North Westside Road Transfer Station is open Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon (open holiday Mondays where applicable). It is located at the Sugarloaf Mountain/Whiteman Creek Forest Service Road. For more information and details about this collection, contact the Regional Waste Reduction Office at 250-469-6250 or email recycle@cord.bc.ca.

In a typical home fire, residents may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time a smoke alarm sounds.

That’s why home escape planning is so critical in a fire situation. It ensures that everyone in the household knows how to use that small window of time wisely.

The theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 8 to 14, is “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!” This theme will educate the public about the critical importance of developing a home escape plan and practicing it.

West Kelowna Fire Rescue is encouraging residents of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation to develop a home escape plan with members in their household and practice it. A home escape plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, near all sleeping areas. It also includes two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window, with a clear path to an outside meeting place that’s a safe distance from the home.

Here are some additional tips for developing and practicing a home escape plan:

• Draw a map of your home with all household members, marking two exits from each room and a path to the outside from each exit.

• Practice your home fire drill twice a year. Conduct one at night and one during the day with everyone in your home, and practice using different ways out.

• Teach children how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them.

• Close doors behind you as you leave – this may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.

• Once outside, stay outside. Never go back inside a burning building.

In support of Fire Prevention Week, West Kelowna Fire Rescue and Westbank First Nation personnel will visit three mobile home parks Oct. 3 to 14 to check for working smoke alarms and discuss home escape planning.