COLD LAKE - Fire Prevention Week (FPW), which takes place every year during Fire Awareness Month, is a safety initiative that aims to raise fire safety awareness and to provide lifesaving community education, with the goal of decreasing casualties caused by fires.
This year's theme highlights the importance of cooking safety. The campaign will present recommendations to help reduce the risk of starting a cooking fire and offer easy but lifesaving tips to keep the community and their families safe while cooking.
Cold Lake Fire-Rescue (CLFR) Deputy Fire Chief Norm Hollis says the most common types of cooking-related calls CLFR receives stem from individuals who have left cooking items unattended. Luckily, campaigns such as FPW exist to remind the public of the importance of remaining in the kitchen while frying, grilling, boiling, or broiling food - and setting a timer for items with a longer cooking time.
FPW also offers people a reminder to check expiration dates on both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Most detectors are certified for 10 years but some models last as little as five years. Moreover, the lifespan and efficiency of the devices' detecting surfaces can be reduced when exposed to smoke or vaping fumes, and from dust, dirt and oils.
Open house
On Oct. 10 from 6-8 p.m., both the North and South Fire Halls will be celebrating FPW with a free barbecue of hamburgers, hot dogs and juice. A draw will take place with smoke detectors/CO detectors as prizes. There will also be colouring books and crayons for children.
In addition, a colouring contest is available for children aged 3-12 years, with the winners being given a chance to become "Fire Chief for a day" and have a private tour of the CLFR Fire Station. The City of Cold Lake’s website has more details on the content.
Firefighters will be present at the events to provide tours of the station and to let community members have a look at the different equipment used to keep the community safe. They will also answer questions from the public.
For those who are unable to attend the open houses, there is also information available on the City’s website.
CLFR will also come, free of charge, to a home or business to do a Fire Life Inspection, where they examine the age of fire detectors and the locations of exits and provide suggestions on how to keep everyone safe.
Hollis would also like Cold Lake residents to know that if they ever have any questions, they are welcome to come directly to the South Fire Hall or to contact the fire service by calling 780-594-4494 and asking to speak to a Fire Service member.
Fire safety education isn’t just for school-aged children, which is why community members of all ages need to set aside some time every October to refresh their knowledge.
CLFR response statistics from Jan. 1 – Sept. 30, 2023
95 Public Assist calls
69 Alarms
30 Wildland Fires
68 Vehicle Accident
25 Misc. Fires
13 Vehicle Fires
12 Structure Fires
8 Hazmat calls
