Check your smoke alarms and home escape plan this holiday season

During the holiday season many Calgarians will be hosting friends and family. To help ensure a safe visit for everyone, The Calgary Fire Department would like to remind Calgarians to check their smoke alarms and share their home escape plans with guests.

“Being a great host includes ensuring your guests’ safety,” said Carol Henke, Public Information Officer, Calgary Fire Department. “As you prepare your home for guests remember to check there are working smoke alarms on every level of your home, especially near the bedrooms.”

When properly installed, tested and maintained, smoke alarms are proven to save lives and reduce damage to homes and personal belongings. To help ensure smoke alarms are properly installed and working The Calgary Fire Department reminds Calgarians to:

Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of the home, including the basement, and ensure there is a smoke alarm in or near every sleeping area.
Test smoke alarms once a month by pressing the alarm’s test button and replace the batteries of each smoke alarms once a year.
Replace smoke alarms after 10 years. Or, if a smoke alarm is found to be defective or broken after testing, replace it.
Sleep with bedroom doors closed to help slow a fire’s progress and give occupants more time to leave the home safely.
When testing smoke alarms ensure everyone in the family will be able to hear and wake-up at the sound of the alarm and, if not, install smoke alarms inside bedrooms to ensure residents will hear when sleeping.

“We also recommend that you share your home escape plan with house guests, so they will know the quickest way out in the case of a fire,” said Public Information Officer Henke. “You have just minutes to escape a fire, so every second counts.”

The Calgary Fire Department recommends developing a home escape plan and practicing it twice a year. The plan should include two ways out of every room and confirming a meeting point outside, where all the members of the house can gather away from the fire. As part of a home escape plan always remember to:

Ensure all windows and doors can be easily opened by all members of the house.
When practicing the home escape plan, practice staying low to avoid smoke, and practice helping those who cannot get out on their own, such as young children and people with limited mobility.
Share the home escape plan with house guests.
In the case of a fire, call 9-1-1 from outside the house, after you have escaped. Do not go back inside the house until the Fire Department have said it is safe to do so.

The Calgary Fire Department hopes all Calgarians will have a safe and happy holiday season. For more information about the Calgary Fire Department’s holiday safety tips, visit: www.calgary.ca/fire.

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