Mississauga.ca - Residents

Prevention, Detection and Escape Are the Three Lines of Defence to Eliminating Unnecessary Loss of Life and Property to Residential Fires

Protecting Yourself From A Fire In Your Home:

Never leave cooking unattended; stay in the kitchen and watch what you heat. Keep the handles of your pots turned inward to avoid hot spills. If grease catches fire, carefully slide a lid over the pan to smother the flames then turn off the burner; allow a pan to cool.

Keep space heaters at least one metre away from anything that may burn. Give a furnace room to breathe and have it regularly serviced.

Replace frayed or cracked electrical cords (have a licensed electrical contractor make repairs or additions to your electrical system). Don’t overload extension cords. Unplug small kitchen appliances when not in use.

Never smoke in bed or if you are impaired by alcohol, medication or drugs. Properly dispose of hot ashes: wet them down/put in a large tin can; never butt out in flower pots.

Keep matches and lighters away from children. Teach them that matches and lighters are "tools" and must only be used by adults.

Do not leave candles burning unattended. Extinguish candles when leaving the room or home. Use sturdy non-combustible candle holders and never leave candles where young children or pets could knock them over.

Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home and outside all sleeping areas (inside bedrooms is also recommended). Test them monthly, vacuum them annually, replace batteries when you change the time on your clocks and smoke alarms every ten years.

Install at least one carbon monoxide detector on every level of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Test them monthly and replace them every seven years.

Make a fire escape plan with at least two ways of escaping every room (if possible); have a meeting place outside and practice your home fire escape plan at least twice a year. Once you're out of a fire, stay out! Never go back into a burning building for anything.

If you discover a fire, get out and call 911 immediately from a neighbour's phone or a cell phone. If you must escape through smoke, stay low under the smoke and hot gases even if you have to crawl.