The cold weather didn’t stop families from heading to the Drumheller Fire Hall for the annual open house to kick-off Fire Prevention Week (October 4-10, 2015).
This year, the theme of fire prevention week is: “Hear the Beep Where you Sleep: Every bedroom needs a working smoke alarm.”
Drumheller Fire Chief Bruce Wade said the importance of this year’s fire prevention week is to “make sure (the public) have working smoke detectors in bedrooms or located outside bedrooms.”
“With construction of houses these days and synthetic material, fires are developing faster so people need to be alerted sooner and evacuate quicker. In today’s building construction, you only have about one to two minutes to get out of a house so that is the awareness we are trying to push,” he said.
Wade also said it is not only important to have smoke detectors in homes, but also, “the smoke detectors that you do have, you change the batteries twice yearly when the time changes.” He continued by reminding the public that smoke detectors only last 10 years and should be checked monthly.
“By checking a smoke detector it will give you an idea of how long it has been up,” he told The Mail.
“The biggest thing is smoke detector awareness and for people to have to have an evacuation plan,” Wade said finishing by saying it is important that children understand this plan.
Joining the members of the fire department at the event were local RCMP and EMS who brought along a police cruiser and ambulance for families to see.
“Having the RCMP members here and EMS gives people the opportunity to see them not in a real professional aspect and they can get to know them, and know their faces,” Wade said.
