A Time to Think About Fire Safety

Hamilton fire inspector Francine Levstek reminded us of the importance of fire safety in our homes. She said that the most important things we should have are working smoke alarms on every floor. Besides being the law, they can help keep us and our families alive. She also talked about the importance of having carbon monoxide detectors.

The five major causes of fires in the city are smoking, cooking, candles, electrical and open air burning. Smoking fires tend most often to be fatal because they tend to happen when someone smokes in bed and falls asleep.  Cooking fires usually happen when a pot is left unattended on the stove or in the oven. Burning candles should never be in a room without adult supervision. Children, pets or simply a faulty container can cause a candle to set fire to the surrounding area. She also reminded us that electrical appliances should all be CSA or UCL approved. This is not always the case when purchases are made at discount stores and it is up to us to look for the approval sticker on the merchandise. Open air burning is not legal in the urban area of the city without a permit and simple things like the backyard "chimeny" are illegal.

Regardless of how much care we take to prevent fires they still might happen. To that end we should all have a plan for escape. Everyone in the home should know the plan and there should be an alternate route just in case. She also reminded us that we should have a working multi purpose fire extinguisher of at least 5 lbs capacity that is easily accessible.

Francine talked about her typical day on the job which would include actual on site inspections and the significant paperwork required to follow up. Her area of inspections are lodging homes, nursing homes, groups homes and similar multi residential buildings.