Fire safety for your home

"Stop a fire by preventing it" series

Home fires can be devastating. Licks of flame do more than consume fuel and oxygen. They consume homes, valuables, and the cherished memories they hold. However, it’s in your power to help prevent the devastation. Please follow along our story series with this blog as well as “Enlighten awareness on lithium-ion fires”  <insert blog link>, “A recipe for preventing cooking fires”<insert blog link>, and “Warming up to home heating safety” <insert link> to discover the ways you can keep you, your home, and your family safe.

Fire facts

Take a quick look at the numbers and you can get a sense of the home fire risks for Canadians. According to StatsCan, which looked at the fire data from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia, the Yukon, and Canadian Armed Forces bases from 2015 to 2021, there were an average of 30 residential fires per day, with most starting as cooking fires (32%). Of the fires, only 37% occurred in homes with confirmed working smoke alarms¹.

Spark some safety behaviours

A home fire can spark in almost every room of your home. Good habits and preparedness, you can help minimize the dangers. Here are few ideas from the National Fire Protection Association.

Kitchen safety

• Be alert. Avoid the oven or stove top if you are sleepy or under the influence.
• If you are frying, boiling, or grilling, remain in the kitchen.
• Check your food regularly if the recipe calls for simmering, baking, or roasting (set a timer to remind you about your food, plus, never leave your home).
• Keep all flammables away from your oven or cooktop.
• Unplug small appliances with heating elements when you leave your home.

If you have a small grease fire:

• Stovetop - Slide a lid over the pan and wait until it is completely cooled before touching.
• Oven – Turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

Electrical safety

• Hire a qualified electrician for any electrical work.
• Use qualified inspectors when buying or renovating a home.
• Plug heat producing or major appliances directly into a wall receptacle outlet.
• Use ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) to reduce the risk of shock in bathrooms, kitchens, garages, and basements.
• Make sure electrical cords do not run across doorways or under carpets.
• Regularly inspect and replace any frayed or damaged cords.

Heating Safety

• Keep flammables at least three feet (one metre) away from heating equipment.
• Maintain a three-foot (one metre) “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Don’t use your oven to heat your home.
• Hire a qualified professional to install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters, or central heating equipment.
• Use a qualified professional to inspect and clean solid fuel or oil heating equipment and chimneys annually.
• Shut off portable heaters when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Only use the manufacturer-specified fuels for fuel burning appliances.
• Use a sturdy fireplace screen to stop sparks from flying into the room.

General safety

• Keep lighters and matches away from children.
• Keep candles in sturdy candle holders, blow them out when leaving the room or going to bed, and keep them out of reach from children and pets.
• If you are smoker, never smoke in bed, and keep an eye out for flying ash.

Rechargeable devices

With more rechargeable devices entering the home, there is greater risk of lithium-ion battery fires. Remember to only purchase UL, ETL, or CSA approved devices. Charge on flat surfaces with the chargers that came with the device, unplug them when fully charged, and recycle your used rechargeable batteries at a safe battery recycling site.

Safety tools

Ensure that you have working smoke alarms and CO detectors and test them monthly. Store fire blankets and fire extinguishers in a safe, accessible location. Remember the PASS order of operations – Pull the pin, Aim at the base of the fire, Squeeze the trigger, and Sweep back and forth.

For safety information on what to do in case of a home fire visit the RedCross home fire safety page.

¹ Three in four fire related deaths in 2021 occurred in a residential fire - Statistics Canada