Home Safe Home Fire Safety Program is Coming to a Neighbourhood Near You

Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services (MFES) is launching its annual Home Safe Home (HSH) program beginning May 15. It is a free city-wide education and awareness program that teaches residents about fire prevention and life safety. From May to September, fire crews go door-to-door distributing fire safety materials and conducting fire safety surveys to ensure that residents have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. MFES also recommends that residents develop and practice a home fire escape plan.

“Fire prevention is everyone’s responsibility,” said Al Hills, Platoon chief and member of the Home Safe Home committee. “There are hundreds of house fires in Mississauga every year and many of these fires are preventable. Residents need to understand and review their three key lines of defense which are prevention, detection and escape.”

According to Hills, Home Safe Home reached more than 32,000 Mississauga homes in 2014. Last year, Birnie CurrentSAFE, a Mississauga-based, family-owned electrical contractor signed on to become the program’s first corporate sponsor. As a result, MFES was able to reach more residents through fire safety information shared in community centres, libraries and at many community events and seminars.

“The first year of our partnership with MFES has been extremely gratifying, knowing that together we have helped save lives and prevent devastating losses,” said Tim Birnie, President, Birnie CurrentSAFE. “It has also spawned creativity in the ways we can touch people’s lives. We look forward to building on these successes. As Platoon Chief Hills says, ‘there is no honour in fighting a fire that could have been prevented’.”

Over the next two years, the sponsorship will help expand the program’s public outreach increasing the number of home visits, the distribution of fire safety materials and community events.

For information about the program, visit www.mfeshomesafehome.ca or call Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services, Fire Prevention and Life Safety at 905-896-5908.

To request a free HSH visit, call MFES Headquarters at 905-615-3777.