Smoke Alarms
The Safeathome.ca Smoke Alarm Challenge just released on YouTube provides a telling reinforcement of the theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, “Don’t Wait! Check The Date – Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years.”
The test compares how long it takes for old and new smoke alarms to sound in identical conditions. Both alarms are photoelectric – one a new Worry-Free Hallway model manufactured in 2016 by Kidde Canada, and the other, a model manufactured in the year 2000. The test was conducted under the supervision of the Barrie Fire and Emergency Service in Ontario.
Did you know?
Most fire deaths occur in homes where there are no working smoke alarms.
Remember – Only a working smoke alarm can save your life!
Smoke detectors can provide you with an early warning so you may escape a fire before it can reach you!
They may be the only thing standing between your escape from a fire, or your being overcome by deadly gases in the smoke in the smoke.
Once you have your smoke detector you should make sure you test and clean them regularly.
Never remove the batteries from your smoke alarm.
Be smart and have your parents install smoke detectors!
Helpful External Links:
Smoke Alarm/CO Alarm Recycling Program
There is a new province-wide program for recycling used or expired smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.
Residents can now drop off used smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at their local depots for recycling. The recycling program is called Alarm Recycle.
Please visit Alarm Recycle for more information.
Three Critical Points
Three critical points to surviving a home fire:
- Install smoke alarms and make sure they are working.
- Plan an escape route.
- Do a home, fire safety walkthrough.
Statistics point to a 50% reduction in fire fatalities since the introduction of smoke alarms into the home. The vast majority of fatal fires (60%) occur in homes without smoke alarms. And a majority of those deaths that occur in homes with smoke alarms are a result of dead or missing batteries. In spite of recent media coverage about children sleeping through them, smoke alarms and home escape planning are still a vital part of survival from fire. Smoke alarms have been and still are the cornerstone of fire safety technology in the home.
However, the recent news events remind us of the need to continue research in fire safety and seek to improve on successful technologies such as smoke alarms.
What is imperative at the moment is for our citizens to understand the need not to rely solely on smoke alarms as the entire answer to escaping from fire.
These recent news events serve to reinforce the need for home escape planning. Smoke alarms are a tool in the planning process. Parents need to clearly understand their supporting roles in the escape plan. After going over the plan with your family, you should conduct a walkthrough of the plan. When you feel comfortable with your plan, hold a fire drill at night (activate your alarm) while your children are sleeping so that you and they can determine the appropriate response to a smoke alarm.
Smoke alarms and automatic sprinklers do save lives but they are just tools in the home escape process. There will continue to be research done and promotion of new fire safety technologies but families need to remember that while technology is an integral part of the process, the maintenance of that technology (e.g. regular testing, replacing batteries, etc.) and incorporating planning and participation in their use will be the key to saving lives.
Procedures
The procedure for conducting fire drills shall be determined by the person who is responsible or in charge of the building, taking into consideration:
- the building occupancy and its fire hazards,
- the safety features provided in the building,
- the desirable degree of participation of occupants other than supervisory staff,
- the number and degree of experience of participating supervisory staff,
- the features of fire emergency systems installed in buildings within the scope of Subsection 3.2.6. (high rise buildings) of the British Columbia Building Code, and
- the requirements of the fire department.
Frequency
Fire drills shall be held at intervals not greater than 12 months for the supervisory staff, except that:
- in day-care centres and in Group B major occupancies, such drills shall be held at intervals not greater than one month,
- in schools attended by children, total evacuation fire drills shall be held at least six (6) times in each school year, and
- in buildings within the scope of Subsection 3.2.6. of the British Columbia Building Code, such drills shall be held at intervals not greater than 2 months.
Pre-Incident Safety Plans
The Fire & Rescue Service, in an attempt to ensure the safety of its members, as well as prompt, educated response to emergencies, has developed a Pre-Incident Plan Program. This program calls for the development of a comprehensive floor plan and site map with detailed information on the type of structure, its construction, presence of protection systems, locations of services, presence of hazardous materials.
The primary purpose of a well designed fire safety plan is to help both occupants and responding personnel in coping with emergency situations. The Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue Service Department extracts specific information from a fire safety plan to create a pre-incident plan. This information is then linked to the fire apparatus computer to assist the Incident Commander in making quick, precise decisions to aid in life safety. A pre-incident plan is one of the most valuable tools available for aiding responding personnel in effectively controlling an emergency.
Enrollment in this program is required for all commercial and public facilities, including farms as a condition of final inspection approval. A fire safety plan is required by the British Columbia Fire Code (or “BCFC”) Section 2.8.2, based on building use or occupancy types. The owner or the owner’s authorized agent of the premises is responsible for providing a fire safety plan as per the current BCFC.
The pre-incident plans are checked for accuracy at the time of scheduled fire inspections. Please keep the department updated of any changes to your facilities that you may be aware of.
If there are any changes to your plan, please complete the Emergency Dispatch Contact Form and submit it once completed. For your convenience, you may complete the form online and click the orange submit form button once you have finished to automatically email your form to the Fire & Rescue Service. Please note that if you use Hotmail or another online email provider, you will first need to save the completed form to your computer and then attach it to an email to send it. The Submit This Form button will work only with a desktop email program such as Microsoft Outlook.
Alternatively, you may also print the form, complete by hand and submit it via one of the various options outlined on the first page of the form. Please ensure you have provided us with a valid email address for your business. This is an important piece of information as it allows our Fire Inspector to transmit inspection reports to you in a timely manner.
THE PITT MEADOWS FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS
All fire safety plans shall follow the guidelines as laid out in the Fire Safety Plan Guidelines .
- Pre-Incident Site and Floor Plans, in addition to the Fire Safety Plan, must be submitted in PDF format to bperrie@pittmeadows.bc.ca before final occupancy. PMFRS requires that our Fire Safety Plan Symbols be used and placed on the site and floor plans.
- The owner or the owner’s agent must complete and submit a fire safety plan to the Fire Department before final occupancy.
- Construction and demolition fire safety plans are required as per BCFC Section 2.8 and Section 5.6 and must be submitted for review prior to work.
- FIPI Combustible Dust Safety Plan Template – http://www.fipibc.ca/employers/fire-safety-plans/
- All buildings requiring a fire safety plan must install a fire safety plan box. This fire safety plan box must be a padlock type with a spare lock inside and must be labelled “Fire Safety Plan” on the front of the box. See sample Fire Safety Plan Box. For more information regarding the location of installation, contact Assistant Chief Brad Perrie.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone (604) 465-2401 or email Assistant Chief Brad Perrie.
The Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue Service undertakes regular fire inspections of all public and commercial buildings on a systematic basis. Fire Inspections ensure the safety of the public, occupants of the building and Fire Fighters who may be required to enter a building during an emergency. During an inspection, an Inspector will look for any fire hazards in and around the building, ensure the proper installation and maintenance of certain life safety systems, and check posted signs and information as per the BC Fire Code, BC Building Code and Municipal Fire Bylaws. Therefore, it is important that business owners and landlords understand the general requirements of a routine inspection.
The following is a list of items that are most commonly checked during annual (or semi-annual) fire inspections:
- Fire Alarm Systems
- Automatic Sprinkler Systems
- Emergency Lights
- Exiting including: Signs, Doors and Means of Egress
- Fire Doors
- Fire Extinguishers
- Indoor and Outdoor Storage
- Storage of Flammable or Combustible Liquids
- Laundry Rooms
- Fire Safety Plans
- Fire Department Connections (for sprinkler systems) and Fire Hydrants
- Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Hood Systems
- Spray Booths
The New Building Checklist outlines the requirements new buildings must complete prior to final occupancy. Review the checklist to ensure that you are prepared
Pitt Meadows Fire & Rescue conducts routine inspections of all public buildings on an annual, once or twice a year basis. To book a non-scheduled inspection, please contact, Assistant Chief Brad Perrie at (604) 465-2401.
Technicians
All technicians performing inspections, testing or maintenance of fire safety equipment or systems must be certified under the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians Act of BC.
Fire protection equipment includes, but is not limited to:
- Fire alarm systems
- Automatic sprinkler systems
- Special extinguishing systems
- Portable fire extinguishers
- Water supply systems for fire protection
- Standpipe and hose systems
- Fixed pipe fire protection systems in commercial
- Kitchen exhaust systems
- Smoke control measures
- Emergency power installations
- Emergency lighting systems
Fire protection technicians are also required to properly record and tag or label any inspections, as required by the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (ASTTBC) and the BC Fire Code.
