- Arson Prevention
- Children Safety Village
- Extinguisher Training
- Fire Drills
- Fire Prevention Week
- Hall Tours
- 9-1-1
- What To Do After A Fire?
Waterloo Region Arson Prevention Program for Children - WRAPP-C
Click here to link to the Children's Safety Village website.
Make sure you have a kitchen fire extinguisher that is in good working order and that you know how to use it. Feel free to bring to your extinguisher to an open house event at your local station to have it inspected.
Fire Fighters are also available to come and speak to your business, organization or group and demonstrate the correct way of using an extinguisher.
Your family should have an escape plan. They should know what to do and they should have two ways to exit the home.
Make sure everyone knows where he or she is to meet once they have left the house. Pick a location where they will be safe from smoke and flames.
Practicing fire drills gives you the opportunity to test your smoke detectors and make sure your family knows what to do. There will be less panic if everyone understands and will take less time to exit the house and find their way to your designated meeting place.
Once your family is safely out of the house and at your meeting place, call the fire department.
The Fire the Sparked A Tradition - Chicago, 1871
On a balmy evening in October 1871, Daniel "Pegleg" Sullivan was sitting outside his house enjoying the unusually warm weather. His contentment was suddenly shattered by the sight of flames inside the barn of his friends, Patrick and Catherine O'Leary who lived across the street. Daniel rushed to the barn to help but the fire was already too far advanced and not much could be saved.
The fire, aided by a strong, restless wind, spread at lighting sped through the predominantly wooden structures of greater Chicago. By the following day, October 9 when the fire was finally brought under control by the use of explosives, much of Chicago had been devastated. At least 300 people had perished and some 18,000 buildings were destroyed. Almost 100,00 were left homeless, a third of Chicago's population.
The cause of the fire became the focus of much speculation. The popular theory revolved around Mrs. O'Leary's cow, which was thought to have kicked over a lamp and set the barn on fire. Ironically, the O'Leary house suffered only minor damage.
In 1911, the Fire Marshals Association of North America officially declared the date of the fire, October 9th, as Fire Prevention Day. ONTARIO became the first jurisdiction to observe Fire Prevention Week during the Sunday through Saturday in which October 9th falls. This practice continues to this day in communities throughout North America as a constant reminder that prevention is the ultimate cure.
Click here to link to Station Open Houses.
The fire hall is open to community residents, schools, groups, organizations and anyone else interested in fire and life safety educational tours.
During the tour, visitors are introduced to the trucks, station and equipment.
Station tours stress the importance of children not playing with matches or lighters, recognizing the sound of a smoke alarm, escape planning and the "stop-drop-and-roll" procedure among other fire safety topics.
Tours and presentations usually range from 30 minutes to 1 hour in length. Videos, participant interaction, handouts and displays are all part of the tour.
To arrange for a hall tour or to have the Fire Prevention Officer come and speak to your organization or community group, please call 664-2887.
Call 9-1-1- for any life-threatening emergency:
- Fire
- Vehicle accidents
- Smoke or carbon monoxide detectors sounding an alarm
- Rescue situations
- Electrocutions
- Unconscious victim
- Head trauma
- Hazardous spills
The following are NOT emergencies. Do NOT call 9-1-1:
- If you lose power (call your hydro company)
- Barking dogs
- Vehicles parked in a no parking zone
- Road closures
If you do dial 9-1-1 in error, stay on the line and inform the dispatcher of the mistake. Otherwise, the dispatcher needs to call back to confirm there is an emergency. If the dispatcher does not receive an answer or if the answering machine picks up, and emergency crew will be sent out and could be diverted from an actual emergency. There is no penalty for calling 9-1-1 by mistake.
WHAT TO DO AFTER A FIRE
- Call your insurance agent A.S.A.P.
- Make an accurate list of all items that have been damaged or lost.
- Contact your mortgage company. They will want to be kept informed on the progress of the renovations to the property.
Depending on what was damaged or lost, you may wish to notify the following:
- Financial Institutions
- Credit Card Companies
- Human Resources Canada - Social Insurance Number (SIN) replacement
- MTO - driver's license, car ownership
- OHIP - replacing your health card
- Local Registrars (Municipal Office) - replacement of birth, marriage, death certificates
- Passport Office
- Utilities - Gas, Oil, Electric, Water
- Doctors - replacing your prescriptions - medications, eye glasses, hearing aids
- Land Registry Office - copies or deeds, titles
- Lawyer - power of attorney, wills, other legal documents
- Revenue Canada - Income Tax
- Post Office - Will they hold or re-route your mail
- Cleaners- your insurance company will have list of fire restoration services
