New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services is urging residents to “stand by their pan” during Fire Prevention Week.
Fire Prevention Week is being celebrated from Oct. 6 to 12. The theme of this year’s event is to prevent kitchen fires.
“We are opening it with our open house,” said fire inspector Kathy Ius. “It’s a great event. It’s lots of fun.”
The local fire department will kick off Fire Prevention Week with an open house at the Glenbrooke fire hall on Saturday, Oct. 5. In addition to the fire department, police, ambulance and other partner agencies will attend the open house that runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“They are all going to be here to show the integration of how we work together,” Ius said. “The idea is to have two demonstrations that would reflect all these things.”
In the morning, emergency responders will take part in an auto extrication demonstration. A mechanical rope rescue demonstration will be done in the afternoon.
Some years, crowds of more than 3,000 people have attended the open house.
“It was tremendous last year,” Ius said. “It poured sideways, but we still got 1,200 people.”
A variety of display tables will provide people with information about emergency preparedness, victims services, fire prevention and other services. Sparky the fire dog and Ali the E-Comm mascot will also attend the open house, as will the Fire Prevention House, where kids can learn about fire safety.
“The New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Society is going to have the barbecue up and running as well,” Ius added. “There’s all sorts of kids stuff the kids can do like face painting.”
Cooking safety will be highlighted during the week, because more fires start in that room of the house than anywhere else in the home.
“It’s so easy to happen, especially when you are multitasking,” Ius said.
New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service also reminds people of the need to have working smoke detectors (and test them) and to have a fire extinguisher near the kitchen.
In additon to the open house, New Westminster firefighters will also be visiting some local schools running Fire Prevention Week to attend fire drills. For more information about the open house, call 604-519-1000 or email [email protected].
