Fire Prevention Week held at Canadian Tire

Casey Defausses is thumbs up in the truck as he joined firefighters  (from left): Kristi Meloche, Chelsea Hebert, Mario Fiorito and Beckham Sawchuk.

The earliest provincial proclamation of Fire Prevention Day was by Ontario Lt. Governor General John Strathearn Hendrie way back in 1916.

More than a century later, fire departments in Canada, the United States and Australia have expanded to a full week primarily in October.

“We try and spread the word on things we can do to make ourselves and our homes safer,” says Amherstburg fire prevention officer Mario Fiorito.

Fiorito, along with several other members of the local department were at Canadian Tire Oct. 10 letting everyone know what they can do to stay safe.

Fiorito says that the department frequently goes into schools and lets students of all ages know that it is important to have an escape plan in their own home and that  there should always be two ways to get out of a room whether it be a door or a window.

The Amherstburg Fire Department has a current compliment of 70 and are responsible for 185 square kilometres of protection. They had 454 reported incidents last year.

Several local firefighters were on hand to educate and got a little helping hand from the Amherstburg Admirals hockey team.

“I don’t think we can preach it enough. The more we do, the better it is,” said Fiorito of fire safety.

Each year, Fire Prevention Week, which is usually the first week in October, has a theme. Back in 1932 and 1933 it was Your Life – Your Property. This year it is “Charge Into Fire Safety – Safe Charging and Superpowers.”

There are numerous ways to prevent fires and know their origins including practicing safe procedures when it comes to charging our devices.

Another big one, and for Fiorito can’t be emphasized enough is making sure you have a working smoke alarm.

“You would be surprised at how many homes we go into where their smoke alarms are outdated or the batteries aren’t working.”

Having an emergency plan to get safely out of your home continues to be a top priority for fire departments and it is a message that they try to tell students when they visit schools.

“We go classroom to classroom and we talk about fire safety plans, how to get out of your house and when there is an emergency when you hear an alarm.”

For more information on fire safety, visit the fire department’s website at www.amherstburgfire.com.

Fire Prevention Week held at Canadian Tire

By Fred Groves