SPRUCE VIEW – Knowing where and how to escape a fire in the home can be a difference maker.
This year’s theme for Fire Prevention Week from Oct. 6 to 12 is Plan and Practice your Escape.
It’s a message local fire departments are urging families to do.
"It's to get the kids and parents to build and practise an escape (route) for themselves for their home is what the theme (this year) is all about," said Bill Stanton, Spruce View district fire chief with the Red Deer County Fire Department. "Have two routes of escape from every room in the house, especially the bedrooms and practise them with your family."
Stanton said that planning includes knowing where family members need to meet and what to do once they are out of the house. It also means being aware of what to do if people cannot escape in the event of a fire.
"If they hear firefighters or anyone doing a search, they're not quiet and hiding, but they call out to them and let them know where they are so they're easier to find," he said.
Members of the Spruce View Fire District share that message with students and the community through events and outreach.
“This year on October 10 the kindergarten and Grade 1 classes from Spruce View School are going to do a tour (of the fire hall). We'll do a presentation and give all the kids a bag of information to take home to their parents geared towards having a plan and practising it," said Stanton, adding that elementary classes from the Mennonite School in Spruce View will also do a tour.
"Between the Spruce View School and Mennonite School we have approximately 50 elementary aged kids coming for Fire Prevention Week this year," he added.
Rehearsing a fire escape plan is an important part of ensuring everyone is out safely, noted Stanton.
"Especially if you practise it, it's something that will come automatically in an emergency situation," said Stanton. "You likely aren't going to panic. It’ll be more of a benefit to you and your family."
