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February 2 – 8, 2025
Burn risks exist in every living space—a house, apartment or temporary shelter. This Burn Awareness Week, learn how to prevent burns in the home.
Taking simple, proactive actions can help prevent burns and keep everyone safe:
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Test smoke alarms and replace batteries. Ensure your alarms are functional and everyone in your home knows the sound of an alert.
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Review and practice your fire escape plan. Make sure you know multiple exit routes and practice your escape plan with your family.
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Check and learn to use your fire extinguisher. Keep your fire extinguisher easily accessible, and make sure everyone knows how to use it.
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Clear flammable materials away from heat sources. Move any items that could catch fire from stoves, space heaters and electrical outlets.
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Take bathroom precautions. Set your water heater to below 120 F and supervise children in the bath.
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Commit to kitchen safety. Never leave cooking food unattended. Use timers, keep handles turned inward, and always stay close when cooking. All flammable liquids containers should be kept in cool, dry locations and stored away from the home.
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Inspect electrical cords and outlets. Make sure cords are undamaged, and never overload outlets.
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Check heating devices for safety. Regularly inspect space heaters and keep them away from flammable items like fabrics or paper.
Did you know?
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Burn injuries are one of the leading causes of accidental death and injury.
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Children, the elderly, and disabled individuals are especially vulnerable to burn injuries.
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Almost one-third of all burn injuries occur in children under the age of 15.
All year long, you have the power to prevent fires and protect those around you.
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Carbon Monoxide (CO) is known as the “silent killer” because it is an invisible, tasteless, and odourless gas that can be deadly. CO is produced when fuels such as propane, gasoline, natural gas, heating oil, or wood do not burn completely in fuel-burning appliances and devices. Fuel-burning appliances can include furnaces, hot water heaters, gas or wood fireplaces, portable fuel-burning heaters and generators, barbeques, stoves, and vehicles.
Prevent CO in your home
- Install CO alarms on every level of your home and outside each sleeping area.
- Ensure fuel-burning appliances, chimneys, and vents are properly maintained, as well as cleaned and inspected annually. Visit www.technicalsafetybc.ca to find a licensed contractor near you.
- Check that all outside appliance vents are not blocked.
- Never use barbeques inside garages, even if the garage doors are open. Only use them outside, away from all doors, windows, vents, and other building openings.
- Portable fuel-burning generators should only be used outdoors in well-ventilated areas away from windows, doors, vents, and other building openings.
- Never use the stove or oven to heat your home.
- Open a chimney flue before using a fireplace for adequate ventilation.
- Never run a vehicle or other fuelled engine or motor inside a garage, even if the garage doors are open. Always remove a vehicle from the garage immediately after starting it.
Know the symptoms of CO
- Exposure to CO can cause flu-like symptoms such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, as well as confusion, drowsiness, loss of consciousness, and death.
- If your CO alarm sounds, and you or other occupants are suffering from symptoms of CO poisoning, get everyone out of the home immediately. Then call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number from outside.
- If your CO alarm sounds, and no one is suffering from symptoms of CO poisoning, check to see if the battery needs replacing, or the alarm has reached its "end-of-life" before calling 9-1-1.
Know the sound of your CO alarm
- Your CO alarm sounds different than your smoke alarm. Test BOTH alarms monthly and make sure everyone in your home knows the difference between the two alarm sounds.
- Don’t be confused by the sound of your CO alarm’s low-battery warning. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions so you know the difference between the low-battery warning, the “end-of-life” warning, and the alarm alerting you to the presence of CO in your home.
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October 5 – 11, 2025
The Township of Langley Fire Department joins NFPA in this year’s Fire Prevention Week™ (FPW™) campaign, “Charge into Fire Safety™: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home,” works to educate everyone about using these batteries safely. This year’s campaign stresses how important it is to buy, charge and recycle safely when it comes to lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries store a lot of energy in a small place. These batteries can overheat, start a fire, or explode if overcharged or damaged. By learning how to BUY, CHARGE, and RECYCLE these batteries safely, you can help prevent a fire in your home.
Charge into Fire Safety:
Most of the electronics we use in our homes every day are powered by lithium-ion batteries. In fact, most everything that is rechargeable uses this kind of battery such as e-bikes, laptops, headphones, smart watches etc.
Buy:
- Only listed products.
- When buying a product that uses a lithium-ion battery look for a safety certification mark such as ULC, CSA or cETL.
- This means it meets important safety standards.
Charge:
- Devices safely.
- Always use the cables that came with the product to charge.
- Follow the instructions from the manufacturer.
- Buy new chargers from the manufacturer or one that the manufacturer has approved.
- Charge devices on a hard surface.
- Do not over charge your device.
- Unplug it or remove the battery when it is fully charged.
Stop:
- Using your device right away if the battery smells weird, gets too hot, makes popping noises or changes in shapes or colour.
- If it is safe, move the device away from anything that can catch fire and call 9-1-1.
Recycle:
- Recycle batteries responsibly.
- Don’t throw lithium-ion batteries in the trash or regular recycling bins because they could start a fire.
Recycle your device or battery at a safe recycling location. Visit call2recycle.org to find a recycling spot near you.
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