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Fire Risks Heat Up as Winter Approaches

As temperatures drop and winter approaches, furnaces are being started up and more people are using their fireplaces to cozily warm their homes. Not surprisingly, it is during the colder months of the year that fire prevention becomes a greater concern. “Everyone requires heat, so with heating comes to the responsibility of maintaining those heating sources,” said Paul Belair, a fire prevention officer with the Timmins Fire Department.

That responsibility, he said, includes having fireplace chimneys cleaned and inspected regularly. “When it comes to wood appliances, wood has a by-product of creosote. Creosote builds up on the chimney wall and … that black char combustible creates chimney fires. “It’s quite common. We get at least an average of one or two (chimney fires) a month during the winter.” Perversely, one of the most common practices Belair said he has encountered is residents disabling their smoke alarms. They do this to prevent it from going off while they’re cooking or when someone is smoking in the house.

“Don’t take the battery out of your smoke alarm or remove your smoke alarm from the ceiling,” said Belair. “That is your only protection against fire. “If you’re getting nuisance alarms, maybe it’s time to figure out a better location for that smoke alarm so it’s not going off for nothing.” During National Fire Prevention Week, Timmins fire officials took the opportunity to reinforce some fundamentals about household fire safety. The key messages they tried to get across: “Check your smoke alarms monthly. Change your batteries yearly and ensure your smoke alarm is less than 10 years old,” said Belair.

Most people know to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms once a year. Many don’t realize, however, the effectiveness of these devices diminishes over the years of use. Most manufacturers recommend replacing smoke alarms after 10 years, but some have an even shorter lifespan. “Technically what is happening is the sensors are only good for so long,” explained Belair. “After 10 years, they no longer warranty that sensor so that tells the general public, ‘Hey, that’s sensor may not work to do its intended purpose.’ So you should be replacing them” based on the manufacturer’s instructions.

Belair said some people think if their smoke alarm is hard-wired, it will last forever. That is a common misconception, he said. “We had multiple people come to our booth during Fire Prevention Week to say, ‘Oh, I’ve been living in my house for 30 years. I’ve never changed that smoke alarm because it’s electrically wired.’” Belair said electrically wired smoke alarms “follow the same rules as every other alarm. They must be replaced every 10 years.”

While smoking always poses a potential fire risk, especially if someone is doing it while in bed or dozing off on the couch, Belair said one of the problems they have encountered in recent years arises from the growing popularity of contraband cigarettes and cigars.“People can’t afford the name brands so they buy contrabands, not realizing the contraband cigarettes don’t have a safety factor in them,” Belair explained. “If you light a contraband cigarette it will stay lit, whereas, if you buy a (commercial brand) cigarette that’s been approved by the government, they are supposed to self-extinguish at certain areas.”

Belair said the Timmins Fire Department responded to about half a dozen fires this year that were traced to contraband cigarettes being pressed while still lit into the combustible soil of potted plants. Combustible soil is a black earth that might contain peat moss, roots or organic materials that could ignite. “It’s a smoldering fire that through time will make its way to the plastic pot, or the railing or the combustible environment around it,” said Belair. “So it can easily light a plant on fire, and that plant will light the railing on fire and that railing will light the deck and the side of the house on fire. We’ve had several of those this year.”

As a fire prevention officer, Belair said one of his key functions is to provide public education. “After a fire, we will investigate the cause and try to figure out where we need to put more public education into preventing these fires in the future.”

– Source: Timmins Press, Article by Ron Grech

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