Danger: fire safety complacency
Posted Mar 2, 2011 3:46 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Calgary Fire Department says it’s better to be safe than sorry, so we all should plan ahead in the event of an emergency.
In the wake of Wednesday’s tragic fire in northeast Temple, in which a man died and a woman was rescued from a boarded up basement by neighbours, Public Information Officer Brian McAsey tells 660News, your home can be a dangerous place because we often become complacement.
“Make sure we have those carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors in our homes, that we’re testing them and they work,” says McAsey. “And that you have an escape plan, that it’s well-rehearsed.”
McAsey says fire safety often begins at city schools, with attentive young students.
“We go over the importance with them at school, and they go home and practice with their parents,” says McAsey. “I’ve been told by a lot of families that our community safety people are really great at communicating that message and the kids are kind of the driver for safety in their homes.”
McAsey adds every home should have a two-minute, escape rule, and make sure every family member is aware of what to do in the event of an emergency. In addition to checking to make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors have adequate power, McAsey also warns about disconnecting the devices on those occassions when they’re activated by something like burning food.
