Fire Safety

A fire safety plan is a detailed document that covers all aspects of fire safety for a specific building or property. The Ontario Fire Code O. Reg 213/07 requires a Fire Safety Plan (Division B Section 2.8) for many properties and businesses. Fire Safety Plans are reviewed and approved by the Chief Fire Official.

Download Perth Fire Service Fire Safety Plan Template. Read the document carefully and ensure all applicable items for your building/business are filled out. Additionally, ensure any Appendices that apply to your building/business are completed and submitted with your Fire Safety Plan.

Smoke alarms save lives. You may have less than 60 seconds to escape from a fire. A smoke alarm gives you the early warning that you'll need to leave your home safely.

You must have a working smoke alarm:

• Outside all sleeping areas
• On every story of your home

You should also install smoke alarms inside every bedroom.

Make sure to test a smoke alarm monthly. You should change its batteries at least once a year or when you hear the low-battery warning sounds. Replace your smoke alarms every 10 years or when recommended in the manufacturer's instructions.

Often called the invisible killer, carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas. It is created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) do not burn completely in fuel-burning applicates such as furnaces, fireplaces, hot water heaters, stoves, portable heaters, generators and/or vehicles. 

Carbon monoxide alarms detect poisonous gases and provide early warning. If your home has a fuel-burning appliance, fireplace, or attached garage, the Ontario Fire Code mandates an alarm to be installed adjacent to each sleeping area. For added protection, install a carbon monoxide alarm on every story of your home. 

If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the home is accounted for. Call for help from a fresh air location and stay there until emergency personnel declare that it is safe to re-enter the home.

Test carbon monoxide alarms monthly. You should change its batteries at least once a year or when you hear the low-battery warning sounds. Replace your carbon monoxide alarms according to the manufacturer’s instructions and no longer than 10 years.

During a fire, you don't have a lot of time. Make a plan with your family so that they know what to do in an emergency and how to escape a fire. Take a few minutes with everyone in your home to make your home fire escape plan, following these instructions:

• Draw a draw a floor plan for each story of your home.
• Draw in all the doors, windows, and stairways. This will show you and your family all possible escape routes. Include any features, such as the roof of a garage or porch, that would help in your escape.
• Show two ways out of every room, if possible.
• Decide in advance who will assist the very young, older adults or people with disabilities in your household.
• Choose a meeting place a safe distance from your home that everyone will remember. In case of fire, everyone will go directly to this meeting place.
• Once you have safely escaped, call the fire department.
• Review the plan with everyone in your household. Walk through the escape routes for each room with the entire family. Use this walk-through exercise to check your escape routes, making sure all exits are practical and easy to use. Then hold a fire drill twice a year and time how long it takes.

If you live in a high-rise apartment building, contact the building management for information on what to do if there’s a fire in your building.

Every year, fires and fire-related deaths result when someone has been drinking and then either tried to cook or mishandled a cigarette. Even when alcohol isn't involved, smoking while tired or distracted can result in disaster. Here are some tips to increase safety:

• Whether it's a party or just a regular day, keep a close eye on any drinkers in your home and make sure all cigarettes are properly extinguished and the stove is off before going to bed.
• Encourage smokers to smoke outside.
• Provide appropriate ashtrays (large and deep and not easily knocked over). Never extinguish a cigarette in a plant pot, which often contains flammables such as peat moss and shredded wood.
• Empty ashtrays into a metal container (not the garbage can) and put it outside.
• If people have been smoking in your home or vehicle, check for cigarettes that may have fallen between the cushions or on the floor. Remember - cigarettes can smolder among upholstery cushions for hours before igniting. 
• Install smoke alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas. It’s the law!  
• NEVER smoke in bed!

Test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms every month and replace the batteries at least once per year.

It’s important to take fires and fire drills in your building seriously.  In case of fire:

• Follow your building's evacuation plan.
• If you can, exit the building using the nearest exit stairwell.
• Don't use elevators.
• If there is a fire or heavy smoke outside your door, don't leave the apartment until you receive instructions from the authorities.
• Secure your vents and doors to prevent any smoke from entering. You can use wet towels to seal your doors.
• Call 9-1-1 if you think the fire has not been reported.
• Don't re-enter the building until a fire official tells you it is safe.

There’s nothing like outdoor grilling. It’s one of the most popular ways to cook food.  Follow these simple tips and you will be on the way to safe grilling.

• Propane and charcoal BBQ grills should only be used outdoors.
• The grill should be placed well away from the home, deck railings and out from under eaves and overhanging branches.
• Keep children and pets at least three feet away from the grill area.
• Keep your grill clean by removing grease or fat buildup from the grills and in trays below the grill.
• Never leave your grill unattended.
• Always make sure your gas grill lid is open before lighting it.
• If you use a starter fluid, use only charcoal starter fluid. Never add charcoal fluid or any other flammable liquids to the fire.
• Keep charcoal fluid out of the reach of children and away from heat sources.

When you are finished grilling, let the coals completely cool before disposing in a metal container.

Electric bicycles and electric scooters, or e-bikes and e-scooters, are more popular than ever. These devices give riders a lower-cost and environmentally friendly way of getting around. But, unknown to many users, the batteries that power e-bikes and e-scooters have also been known to catch on fire and cause explosions.

Most e-bikes and e-scooters are powered by lithium-ion batteries. This is the same type of battery that powers many of today’s electric vehicles, cell phones, laptops, and power tools. When lithium-ion batteries are damaged, they can overheat, catch on fire, and even lead to explosions. When fires occur, they also tend to burn very hot and can be difficult for firefighters to extinguish

Candles may be pretty to look at, but they are a cause of home fires – and home fire deaths. Remember, a candle is an open flame which means that it can easily ignite anything that can burn.

• Never leave a burning candle unattended.
• Consider using flameless candles in your home. They look and smell like real candles.
• Use candle holders that won’t tip over easily and place on a sturdy, uncluttered surface.
• Light candles carefully. Keep your hair and any loose clothing away from the flame.
• Don’t burn a candle all the way down — put it out before it gets too close to the holder or container.
• Never use a candle if oxygen is used in the home.
• Have flashlights and battery-powered lighting ready to use during a power outage.

If your child or teen is involved in fire-play or fire setting, you are not alone. Many children and teens have a fascination with fire. It is important to understand that while curiosity about fire is natural, fire-play can be dangerous. Unfortunately, many children die or are injured in fires they start themselves.

Keeping our child safe from fire. You can help protect your child and family from fire by the following these safety tips:

• Make sure that young children are always supervised.
• Keep matches and lighters locked away where children can’t get them.
• Install smoke alarms on every story of your home and outside sleeping areas. Test them regularly.
• Develop and practice a home fire escape plan.
• Never allow your child to spend time with someone who uses fire in reckless or inappropriate ways.

Learn about fire safety from Sparky the Fire Dog, play games and apps, watch videos, activities and learn about different kinds of fire trucks.

Electrical equipment failure and overheating is a leading cause of home fires in Ontario.

Make sure that you:

• Avoid overloading circuits and never plug power bar into another power bar
• Check electrical cords for damage and/or fraying
• Turn off and unplug any malfunctioning appliances
• Replace any damaged or broken plugs and any missing, cracked or broken cover plates
• Never use cords that have been tightly wrapped as it can overheat.

You can use a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire. Never put yourself or anyone in danger by trying to put out a fire that's too large or if smoke becomes a hazard.

Choose the correct type of fire extinguisher and know where to find it in your home or business. You can check a fire extinguisher's class rating on its faceplate.

• Class A - extinguishes solids such as wood, paper, and plastics.
• Class B - extinguishes flammable liquids like fuels, oils, greases, and propane.
• Class C – extinguishes fire involving energized electrical equipment.
• Class D – extinguisher fires involving combustible metals such as magnesium

Perth Fire Services urges everyone to keep safety in mind as the temperatures turn colder, and to ensure that you are wearing appropriate clothing when heading outdoors – frostbite can develop within minutes on exposed skin.

During the colder months it’s important to pay close attention to potential fire hazards such as fireplaces, furnaces, chimneys and vents, and space heaters.

Some important reminders:

• Keep chimneys and intake/exhaust vents for furnaces and heating appliances free of debris, ice and snow accumulations to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) build-up from inefficient combustion.
• Burn dry, well-seasoned wood in fireplaces and woodstoves to reduce the risk of excessive creosote build-up in chimneys.
• Allow ashes from your fireplace or woodstove to cool before emptying them into a metal container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep the container outside.
• Keep space heaters at least one meter (3 feet) away from anything that can burn, including curtains, upholstery and clothing.
• Replace worn or damaged electrical wires and connections on vehicles and extension cords and use the proper gauge extension cord for vehicle block heaters.

Animal Services would like to remind residents that if it’s too cold for you to stay outdoors, it’s too cold for your pets also. Please bring your pets inside during cold temperatures.

The excessive accumulation of materials in a residence poses a significant threat to firefighters fighting fires and responding to other emergencies. Many fire departments are experiencing serious fires, injuries, and deaths as the result of compulsive hoarding behavior

What is hoarding?

Hoarding is defined as collecting or keeping large amounts of various items in the home due to strong urges to save them or distress experienced when discarding them. Many rooms in the home are so filled with possessions that residents can no longer use the rooms as designed. The home is so overloaded with things that everyday living is compromised.

Why do people become hoarders?

Hoarding is a mental disorder that can be genetic in nature, triggered by traumatic events, or a symptom of another disorder, such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, or dementia. Studies have found that hoarding usually begins in early adolescence and gets worse as a person ages. It is more common among older adults.

Why is hoarding an issue for the fire service?

• Hoarding can be a fire hazard. Many occupants die in fires in these homes. Often, blocked exits prevent escape from the home. In addition, many people who are hoarding are injured when they trip over things or when materials fall on them.
• Responding firefighters can be put at risk due to obstructed exits, falling objects, and excessive fire loading that can lead to collapse. Hoarding makes fighting fires and searching for occupants far more difficult.
• Those living adjacent to an occupied structure can be quickly affected when a fire occurs, due to excessive smoke and fire conditions.

There is no such thing as safe ice.

You cannot tell the strength of the ice by its appearance. Temperature, thickness, snow cover, water depth, size of water body, currents, and distribution of the load on top of the ice are all factors affecting ice safety. Always check ice thickness before venturing out. Snowmobiles require at least five inches of clear solid ice and autos at least eight inches to a foot of clear solid ice.

Avoid:

• Slushy ice
• Thawed ice that has recently refrozen
• Layered or rotten ice caused by sudden temperature changes.
• Ice near moving water (i.e. rivers or currents)

Never go on the ice alone and before you leave shore, inform someone of your destination and expected time of return.

Know what to do if you hear the ice crack:

• Lay down on the ice.
• Call for help loudly and clearly. 
• Crawl or roll back to land.

Self-rescue steps:

• Float on your stomach facing the shore.
• Reach forward onto the ice; do not push down on it.
• Kick your legs to slowly push your torso onto the ice.
• Crawl or roll away from the hole.
• If you can’t climb onto the ice, float in the water, and call for help loudly and clearly.
• Get medical help immediately.

Assisting someone who has fallen through the ice:

• Do not attempt to go on the ice.
• Push or throw a stick, branch, rope, or floating aid to the victim.
• It is important to get help fast.
• Call 9-1-1 for expert assistance.
• Remember reach, throw…but do not go!

• Extinguish Open Flames – Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home.
• Pet Proof the Home – Take a walk around your home and look for areas where pets might start fires inadvertently, such as stove knobs, loose wires and other potential hazards.
• Keep Pets Near Entrances – When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.
• Practicing Escape Routes with Pets – Keep collars and leashes at the ready in case you must evacuate quickly with your pet.
• Affix a Pet Alert Window Sticker – Write down and keep updated the number of pets inside your house and attach to the front window / door. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. You can obtain a free window cling from Perth Fire Services or Town Hall.

Leaving your children in the care of a babysitter is a serious responsibility for any parent. Following these guidelines will help to ensure the experience is a safe and worry-free one for you, the babysitter and your children. Before the babysitter arrives:

• Go over your home fire escape plan with your children, making sure that they know the escape routes and the location of the outside meeting place.
• Test the smoke alarms to make sure they are working. Smoke alarms will detect fire in its early stages and could give the babysitter and children time to escape.
• Post emergency numbers right beside the phone.
• Provide the babysitter with the address of your residence (i.e. street name, house number and/or unit number). Identify the major intersection closest to the residence.
• Review the home fire escape plan with the babysitter, indicating the location of the meeting place.
• If the babysitter is cooking or heating up food, demonstrate the use of all appliances they will be required to use.