Fire Safety House

Definition:

A “Fire Safety House” is an educational tool for teaching fire safety in the home to our children. It is basically a scaled down version of a real home that is built on a trailer and this mobility allows it to be brought to the children. The children are able to go through the Fire Safety House and put into practice the escape methods taught in the classroom.

History:

The first Fire Safety House in Canada was built in Kelowna in 1984 by their Professional FireFighter’s Association. The first on Vancouver Island was built in Nanaimo. The Port Alberni Fire Fighter’s Association chose to create a similar program here. In the fall of 1997, a committee was struck to look into the feasibility of constructing a fire safety house. With the support of our membership and the Fire Department, we began working on the project in November of 1997. In the spring of 1998 we enlisted the help of the staff and students of the Technology and Media programs at Alberni District Secondary School. The drafting class drew up the plans for our project and compiled the materials lists and an approximate finished weight. The media class produced a short promotional video for us. During the summer of 1998, we had a trailer built for us by a professional fabricator to improve our timeline. The Technology program worked on construction of the house during the 1998-99 school year. In June of 1999, we took possession of the project from the school and worked through the summer to bring the project to completion in October of 1999.

Operation:

This program is implemented in the fall of the year leading up to “Fire Prevention Week” and McDonald’s “Learn Not to Burn / Fire Chief for a Day” program. The trailer is transported to the elementary schools in the valley and presented to Grade 3 students. The fire fighters make a presentation in the classroom and follow with a practical session in the fire safety house.The biggest advantage of the fire safety house is that it allows children to learn about fire safety in the home in a safe and relevant atmosphere. They will be able to put into practice escape techniques taught in the classroom. The Fire Safety House can also be presented to the public as a static display. With signs and brochures throughout the house, the public are able to go on a self-guided tour. Conclusion: The concept of a fire safety house is not a new one, but it is a concept that is still relevant and can be expanded on. We plan to keep our fire safety house up to date with the most current trends in fire prevention and public education. As funding and time permits, we plan to expand the program to include life safety concepts as well. We will promote electrical safety, safety around natural gas, and key life safety behaviours.

Acknowledgements:

We could not have achieved as much as we have with this project without the help and support of the business community of Port Alberni and the many service groups in the area. The staff and students of Alberni District Secondary School had a significant role to play in this project. The support of management and staff of Port Alberni Fire Department should be recognised as well. Most importantly, the membership of Port Alberni Fire Fighter’s Association, Local 1667 should be proud of their contribution to this worthwhile project. Many volunteer hours were contributed by the membership to bring the trailer from the “almost complete " state it was received in from the high school, to its final completion.

British Columbia Burn Facts ( 98- 01- 07 )

Did you know that:

* Every hour a fire causing damage occurs in British Columbia.
* Every day someone is injured by fire in British Columbia.
* Fire kills in British Columbia every 8 days.
* 45% of burn injuries in British Columbia are caused by hot liquids or vapours.
* 40% of burn injuries in British Columbia are caused by fires.
* 43% of persons burned in fires are between 20 to 44 years of age.
* Persons aged 1 to 14 years have the second highest incidence of burn injuries from fire.
* The majority of fire injuries occur in private dwellings.
* The ignition of flammable liquids and substances such as cooking fats and gasoline are major causes of burn injuries from fire.
* Having a working smoke alarm in your home cuts your risk of dying in a fire by half.