New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service is encouraging residents to keep their homes safe during Fire Prevention Week.
The focus of this year's Fire Prevention Week, which is being held Oct. 9 to 15, is to prevent the leading causes of home fires. These include cooking, heating and electrical equipment, as well as those caused by candles and smoking materials.
"Home fire deaths can be prevented by taking a few simple precautions like having working smoke alarms and home fire escape plan, keeping things that can burn away from the stove and always turning off space heaters before going to bed," said Capt. Brent Joel of New Westminster Fire and Rescue. "Fire is a dangerous opponent, but by anticipating the hazards you are much less likely to be one of the thousands of people injured in home fires each year."
New Westminster Fire and Rescue has offered the following tips for protecting your home and family from fire:
? Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen - even for a short period of time - turn off the stove.
? Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment such as the fireplace, furnace, wood stove or portable space heater.
? Replace or repair damaged or loose electrical cords.
? If you smoke, smoke outside. Use deep, wide ashtrays on a sturdy table.
? Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid using candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep.
"While preventing home fires in New Westminster is our number one priority, it is not always possible," Joel said in a press release. "New Westminster's residents need to provide the best protection to keep their homes and families safe in the event of a fire. This can be achieved by developing an escape plan which you practise regularly and equipping homes with lifesaving technologies like smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers."
SHARE YOUR SHOTS
Always wanted to be in the pictures? Now's your chance.
The Record has a number of photo galleries on its website and is inviting residents to contribute pictures. Current galleries focus on pets, kids teams, Out and About in the Royal City, the Giving Spirit, Naturally New West, costumes - and more galleries are coming.
And for those of you who are heading out of town on vacation, be sure to take a copy of The Record along because we want to go with you. Take a picture of yourself with the hometown newspaper and send us a copy for our Paper Postcards gallery.
To see the current galleries, visit The Record's website at www.royalcity record.com/galleries. You can send photos to cmy ers@royalcityrecord.com
SEEKING RECONCILIATION
The Canadians for Reconciliation Society is calling on the provincial government to acknowledge the untold history of Chinese and Indigenous People in B.C.
In 2010, the City of New Westminster formally apologized for the way the city had treated Chinese Canadians in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The state of California has also apologized for its discriminatory policies, and the City of Bellingham has apologized for expelling the Chinese in 1885/1886.
"That leaves B.C. as the few remaining West Coast jurisdictions which still hide its history towards its minorities," said a press release from the society.
Do you have an item for Around Town? Send ideas to Theresa, tmcmanus@ royalcityrecord.com. You can also follow her on Twitter, @ TheresaMcManus, and check out her Only in New West blog at www.royalcityrecord. com.
