Port Hope Fire and Emergency Services wants to remind residents to take proper fire safety precautions and stay fire safe this holiday season. Always ensure you maintain working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms in your home. Install alarms on every storey of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Test your smoke and CO alarms every month and install new batteries if needed.
Quick Facts:
- OFM data indicate the months from November to January experience the highest number of residential fire deaths.
- Cooking remains the top cause of residential fires while careless smoking remains the top cause of fatal fires.
- Last holiday season (November 2024 – January 2025) saw 24 residential fatal fires resulting in 26 fire deaths.
- Smoke alarms should be tested monthly, batteries replaced annually, and the alarms themselves replaced after 10 years of service.
Tips to enjoy a fire safe holiday season:
- Always stay in the kitchen when something is cooking on the stove.
- Place lit candles away from anything that can burn and out of the reach of children and pets where they can’t be knocked over. Remember to snuff out candles before leaving the room or going to bed. Consider using battery-operated or electric flameless candles.
- Drink responsibly. Attempting to cook or smoke while under the influence of alcohol is too often a contributing factor in fatal fires.
- Make sure the base of real Christmas trees are immersed in water at all times, to prevent them from getting too dry.
- Check all sets of decorative lights before putting them up and discard any sets that are damaged.
- Develop and practice a home fire escape plan so that everyone in your home knows what to do if the smoke or CO alarms sound.
2025-12-12
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