Brandon, MB – Looking ahead to National Fire Prevention Week (October 7th through 13th, 2018) Brandon Fire & Emergency Services is encouraging all community members to carefully consider this year’s theme, “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.”
Home fires today can burn faster than ever. Occupants may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Knowing how to use that time wisely takes planning and practice. This year’s campaign works to educate people about three basic, but essential steps to take to reduce the likelihood of having a fire and how to escape safely in the event of one:
• LOOK for places fire could start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.
• LISTEN for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.
• LEARN two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.
While this message is particularly important when it comes to home fires, these tips apply to virtually any location. Situational awareness is a skill people need to use wherever they go. No matter where you are, look for available exits. If the alarm system sounds, take it seriously and exit the building immediately.
During Fire Prevention Week in Brandon, the public is invited to learn more about the role of Brandon Fire & Emergency Services during public tours of the No. 1 Fire Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 9th from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The community is also invited to stop by BFES’s “Fire Safety Day” public display at Home Depot on Friday, Oct. 12th, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A pair of popular events for school-aged children – the Fire Chief for a Day tours and the Firefighter Celebrity Olympics – are also on tap through the week.
For more information about Brandon Fire & Emergency Services Public Education programming, visit http://brandonfire.ca/services/public/public-education.
