Home Fire Prevention

Batteries power our smoke alarms, household items and toys. They can be found in most homes. But these batteries can be a fire hazard if not stored safely or disposed of with care.

Source: National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Candles may be pretty to look at but they are a cause of home fires — and home fire deaths. Remember, a candle is an open flame, which means that it can easily ignite anything that can burn.

Think about using flameless candles in your home. They are safer, and even look and smell like real candles!

'Candle With Care'

If you do burn candles, make sure that you:

• Keep candles at least 1 foot (30 centimetres) away from anything that can burn.
• Use candle holders that are sturdy, and won’t tip over easily.
• Put candle holders on a sturdy, uncluttered surface.
• Light candles carefully. Keep your hair and any loose clothing away from the flame.
• Don’t burn a candle all the way down — put it out before it gets too close to the holder or container.
• Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep. 
• Never use a candle if oxygen is used in the home.
• Have flashlights and battery-powered lighting ready to use during a power outage. Never use candles.

Candles and Kids

• Never leave a child alone in a room with a burning candle.
• Keep matches and lighters up high and out of children’s reach, in a locked cabinet.

Religious Candle Safety

Lit candles are used in religious services, in places of worship, and in the home. Whether you are using one candle, or more than one on a candelabra, kinara, or menorah, make sure you take a few moments to review the candle safety tips below.

• Candles should be placed in a sturdy candle holder.
• Handheld candles should not be passed from one person to another at any time.
• When lighting candles at a candle lighting service, have the person with the unlit candle dip their candle into the flame of the lit candle.
• Lit candles should not be placed in windows where a blind or curtain could catch fire.
• Candles placed on, or near tables, altars, or shrines, must be watched by an adult.
• If a candle must burn continuously, be sure it is enclosed in a glass container and placed in a sink, on a metal tray, or in a deep basin filled with water.
• Candles should be out of the reach of children and pets.
• Young children should never hold a lit candle. Consider providing battery-operated candles for children. A parent should decide when a child is mature enough to light a candle with adult supervision.

Make sure YOUR home is safe from carbon monoxide poisoning. MOST PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) AND KNOW THAT IT'S DANGEROUS.

But it's often a mystery of where it comes from, how it's produced, its physical symptoms, and what precautions can be taken to ensure it doesn't endanger you. Or worse, kill you.

Find out more about carbon monoxide.

Cooking is the #1 cause of home fires in Ontario. Only YOU can prevent a cooking fire in your home! Being mindful while you cook, however, can go a long way to helping prevent these fires. Follow a few safety tips to prevent these fires.

Never Leave Cooking Unattended

• Always stay in the kitchen while cooking. If you must leave, even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• If you have something in the oven, set a timer to remind you to check it often.

Cook with Caution

• Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stovetop.
• Keep anything that burns — cooking utensils, dishcloths, paper towels and pot holders — a safe distance from the stove.
• Loose-fitting clothes can come into contact with stove burners and catch fire. Wear tight sleeves or roll them up when cooking.
• Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.

If you have a cooking fire

• Put a Lid On It! On the stovetop, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
• If you have any doubt about fighting a small fire…just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
• Call 9-1-1 from outside the home.
• Some people make the mistake of putting water on the fire, either by pouring water in to the pan or bringing the pan to the sink. Both of these are dangerous as it has the opposite reaction from what people think will happen....the fire actually gets worse! Check out this quick video.

Doing laundry is most likely part of your every day routine. But did you know how important taking care of your clothes dryer is to the safety of your home? With a few simple safety tips you can help prevent a clothes dryer fire.

Electricity makes our lives easier, but there are times when we take its power for granted. Follow these electrical safety tips to help keep your home fire-safe.

Important Reminders

• Make sure all electrical work in your home is done by a qualified electrician!
• When you are buying or remodelling a home, have it inspected by a qualified private inspector or in accordance with local requirements.
• Call a qualified electrician or your landlord if you have:
  • Frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers
  • A tingling feeling when you touch an electrical appliance
  • Discoloured or warm wall outlets
  • A burning or rubbery smell coming from an appliance
  • Flickering or dimming lights
  • Sparks from an outlet

For more information on electrical safety in the home, visit the Electrical Safety Foundation International's website, and watch Brett Brenner, President of ESFI, in this video offers tips residents can follow to help keep homes safer from electrical fires, in this age of smart home technology.

It's important that you and your family stay safe during a power outage which can happen at any time and can cause many fire hazards. Richmond Hill Fire and Emergency Services and the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management offer the following tips to keep your family safe during a power outage:

Contact the Fire Prevention Division at 905-883-5444 for more information.

People living in a high-rise apartment or condominium building need to think ahead and be prepared in the event of a fire. It is important to know the fire safety features in your building and work together with neighbours to help keep the building as fire-safe as possible.

Visit our High-Rise Fire Safety page to learn more.

Home Escape Planning

A fire can double in size every 30 seconds so planning ahead and being prepared for an emergency is very important. It could mean the difference between life and death. An escape route that you have planned and practiced will help you and members of your household get out quickly and safely.

Learn how to create a home escape plan.

While fire safety and fire prevention really is an adult job, it is important to teach your children about fire safety.

Make an Escape Plan

• Have a plan for young children who cannot get outside by themselves.
  You will need to wake babies and very young children and help them get out. In your plan, talk about who will help each child get out safely.
• It is important to find two ways out of every room in your home, in case one exit is blocked or dangerous to use.
• Choose a meeting place outside your home. Children should know what to do when they hear a smoke alarm and there is no adult around. Help them practice going to the outside meeting place.
• Teach children to never go back inside a building that is on fire.
• Fire is scary for everyone, especially children. It is important to teach children not to hide in a fire.

Keep Children Safe from Fire and Burns

• Keep children 3 feet away from anything that can get hot. Space heaters and stove-tops can cause terrible burns. Keep children at least 3 feet away from stoves, heaters or anything that gets hot.
• Closely supervise children, making sure that they are kept away from other fire sources, including lit candles, cigarettes, bonfires, and stoves.
• Keep smoking materials locked up in a high place. Never leave cigarette lighters or matches where children can reach them.
• Never play with lighters or matches when you are with your children. Children may try to do the same things they see you do.
• Teach young children to never touch matches or lighters. They must go tell a grown-up when matches or lighters are found.
• It is natural for young children to be curious and ask questions about fire, play with fire trucks, or pretend to cook. Use these opportunities to teach them about fire safety.
• Explain that fire moves very fast and can hurt as soon as it touches them. Tell them that this is why matches and lighters are tools for adults only.
• Establish clear rules and consequences about unsupervised and unauthorized uses of fire.
• Be a good example! Always use fire sources — matches, lighters, candles, fireplaces, and campfires — in a safe manner. Never treat them as toys, or children may imitate you.
• Talk with children about what their friends or other children are doing with fire.
• Give praise for showing respect and age-appropriate responsible behaviour toward fire.

Let the kids have some fun while learning to stay safe! Visit Sparky's Firehouse for videos, games and activities.

Pets can be our best friends, giving us comfort, friendship, and unconditional love. But they can also cause fires if we're not careful. 

Follow these safety tips from NFPA to stay safe:

• Pets are curious. They may bump into, turn on, or knock over cooking equipment. Keep pets away from stoves and countertops.
• Keep pets away from candles, lamps, and space heaters.
• Always use a metal or heat-tempered glass screen on a fireplace and keep it in place.
• Keep pets away from a chimney’s outside vents. Have a “pet-free zone” of at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from the fireplace. Glass doors and screens can stay dangerously hot for several hours after the fire goes out.
• Consider battery-operated, flameless candles. They can look and smell like real candles.
• Some pets are chewers. Watch pets to make sure they don’t chew through electrical cords. Have any problems checked by a professional.

A portable fire extinguisher can save lives and property by putting out a small fire or containing it until the fire department arrives; but portable extinguishers have limitations. Because fire grows and spreads so rapidly, the #1 priority for residents is to get out safely.

Safety tips:

• Use a portable fire extinguisher when the fire is confined to a small area, such as a wastebasket, and is not growing; everyone has exited the building; the fire department has been called or is being called; and the room is not filled with smoke.
• To operate a fire extinguisher, remember the word PASS:
  • Pull the pin. Hold the extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you, and release the locking mechanism.
  • Aim low. Point the extinguisher at the base of the fire.
  • Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly.
  • Sweep the nozzle from side-to-side.
• For the home, select a multi-purpose extinguisher (can be used on all types of home fires) that is large enough to put out a small fire, but not so heavy as to be difficult to handle.
• Choose a fire extinguisher that carries the label of an independent testing laboratory.
• Read the instructions that come with the fire extinguisher and become familiar with its parts and operation before a fire breaks out.
• Install fire extinguishers close to an exit and keep your back to a clear exit when you use the device so you can make an easy escape if the fire cannot be controlled. If the room fills with smoke, leave immediately.
• Know when to go. Fire extinguishers are one element of a fire response plan, but the primary element is safe escape. Every household should have a home fire escape plan and working smoke alarms.

Richmond Hill Fire & Emergency Services is pleased to offer fire extinguisher training to our residents.

Home fire sprinklers can dramatically reduce the heat, flames, and smoke produced in a fire. Properly installed and maintained fire sprinklers help save lives.

Home sprinkler facts:

• Home fire sprinklers provide a way to fight flames immediately. In less time than it would take most fire departments to arrive on the scene, home fire sprinklers can contain and even extinguish a fire. There’s less damage, and less chance of deadly smoke and gases reaching your family.
• A fire sprinkler activates during the early stages of a fire before it grows and spreads. Typically, only the sprinkler closest to the fire will activate, spraying water directly on the fire, not the rest of the house.
• Accidental fire sprinkler discharge is extremely rare.
• Modern home fire sprinklers are inconspicuous and can be mounted flush with walls or ceilings. Many sprinklers can even be concealed.
• When building a home, you choose from many options – carpeting, a fireplace or an extra bathroom, for instance. For about the same cost, you can choose a home fire sprinkler system to safeguard your family. On average, home fire sprinklers cost $1.35 per square foot (1-1.5% of the total cost of construction) of sprinklered space in new construction.

For more information on residential sprinklers, visit the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition Canada.

Older adults are more likely to be killed or injured by fire. About 30 per cent of fire related deaths in Ontario involve people 65 years of age and older.  It is important to give seniors the education and tools they need to plan around their abilities and have a home free of fire hazards.

Visit our Seniors' Fire Safety page to learn more.

Smoke alarms save lives. Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries. If there is a fire in your home, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out.

Find out more about smoke alarms.

The place where we feel safest — at home — is where most smoking-materials structure fires, deaths, and injuries occur. Smoking materials are the leading cause of fire deaths.

Smoking Safety

• If you smoke, use only fire-safe cigarettes.
• If you smoke, smoke outside. Most deaths result from fires that started in living rooms, family rooms and dens or in bedrooms.
• Keep cigarettes, lighters, matches, and other smoking materials up high out of the reach of children, in a locked cabinet.

Put It Out

• Use a deep, sturdy ashtray. Place it away from anything that can burn.
• Do not discard cigarettes in vegetation such as mulch, potted plants or landscaping, peat moss, dried grasses, leaves or other things that could ignite easily.
• Before you throw away butts and ashes, make sure they are out, and dousing in water or sand is the best way to do that.

Smoking and Medical Oxygen

• Never smoke and never allow anyone to smoke where medical oxygen is used. Medical oxygen can cause materials to ignite more easily and make fires burn at a faster rate than normal. It can make an existing fire burn faster and hotter.

E-Cigarettes

• Fires have occurred while e-cigarettes were being used, the battery was being charged, or the device was being transported.
• Battery failures have led to small explosions.
• Never leave charging e-cigarettes unattended.
• E-cigarettes should be used with caution.