DAWSON CREEK, B.C. -- It's Fire Prevention Safety Week and the Dawson Creek Fire Department is heading to elementary schools to teach fire safety.
This year, the focus is ‘Learning The Sounds of Safety’.
“A working smoke alarm will save lives, so just check them,” says Rob Huttema, Fire Prevention Officer, Dawson Creek Fire Department.
Kids in kindergarten are learning how to stop, drop and roll and those in grade 3 are learning personal addresses, just in case they ever have to call 911.
“It’s an annual opportunity for everyone to get better at what they’re doing. Practice your fire drills at home,” says Huttema.
However, they’re all learning about smoke alarms and detecting what specific ‘beeps’ mean.
“Knowing the differences in the sounds of the smoke alarm and your carbon monoxide, there’s different sounds for each of them,” says Huttema.
Fire alarms alert residents when there’s an increase of smoke or heat. But if you don’t know what it sounds like, it’s not going to help.
“Beep-beep-beep, so when it does that consecutively, it’s telling you there’s fire or smoke,“ says Huttema.
Keep in mind, the batteries in smoke alarms need to be changed at least once a year.
“If you get one beep every minute, it’s probably telling you the batteries are low and need to be changed,” says Huttema.
Educating young kids about fire safety is one of the perks of the job.
“All the crews enjoy doing this, we enjoy coming to the schools, we enjoy teaching the kids. That's what we’re about. teaching kids how to be fire safe,” says Huttema.
The focus is on young kids this year, because they take all information home with them, getting their families involved.
“When panic steps in, do you really know how? You need to practice that, get your meet up outside so everyone knows where to go,” says Huttema.
Captain Huttema says it’s important for all members in your household to have an understanding of your personal fire safety plan just in case the unthinkable happens.
