Fire prevention starts with you

Welcome to the City of Vaughan
Official Website.

QUICKMENU

Use the drop down arrow below to navigate through our site

Advanced Search

Home > Newsroom > Fire prevention starts with you

Fire prevention starts with you

10/7/2019 9:00 AM

The City of Vaughan calls on the community to practise home fire escape planning during Fire Prevention Week

Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service (VFRS) is encouraging the Vaughan community to practise their home fire escape plan as part of Fire Prevention Week running from Sunday, Oct. 6 to Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.

This year’s theme, “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape!”, reminds everyone to make sure they know where to go when the alarms sound. This is why it is important all households have working smoke alarms and develop and run through a step-by-step guide for escaping from a fire.

Smoke and fire can spread quickly. Be prepared in advance with these simple steps for fire prevention planning with your family:

Assess the needs of everyone in your home

Identify anyone who requires assistance to get out of the home safely, such as small children or older adults

Make sure that you have working smoke alarms on every storey of the home and outside all sleeping areas

Ensure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm

Identify all possible exits, including doors and windows, and make sure they work

Know two ways out of all rooms, if possible

Everyone must know what to do when the smoke alarm sounds

Assign someone to help those who need assistance
Identify a safe meeting place outside
Call the fire department from a neighbour’s home or cell phone

Practise your home fire escape plan

Have everyone participate
Make changes to your plan if necessary

VFRS is hosting a series of events during Fire Prevention Week, including a pop-up on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at the Maple GO station from 5:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. to discuss fire prevention safety with commuters.

For more information, visit vaughan.ca/fire.

QUOTE

“The men and women of Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service are devoted individuals who have answered the call of public service. They have dedicated their lives to ensuring the safety and protection of our residents, visitors and public spaces we use every day. It’s important that the citizens of Vaughan practise and implement a fire escape plan so everyone knows what to do and where to go when an alarm goes off. Fire Prevention Week serves as a great reminder of this important task and the community is encouraged to do this on a daily basis. Fire prevention starts with you. I am grateful to the men and women of Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service for their hard work and dedication to the community and beyond.”

- Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua

QUICK FACTS

Fire Prevention Week is part of a nation-wide campaign to teach children, adults and teachers how to stay safe in a fire.
This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign is “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape!”
VFRS’s commitment to ensuring the safety of the public has helped them earn 100 per cent on the Citizen Satisfaction Survey. Their innovative approach to fire prevention was recently awarded the 2019 Bronze Award for Innovative Management through the National Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) and is a testament to the positive impact they have on the community.

- 30 -