| In public schools, children are taught about the serious | | | | Canada every 30 minutes. |
| danger of fire, how to develop a fire safety plan and | | | | Fire Prevention Facts: |
| how to evacuate a building. As we grow older it is | | | | 28% - Number of Canadian homes that do not have |
| easy to forget just how important it is to be fire | | | | a fire extinguisher. Even if you have a properly |
| safety conscious. Here are some important Canadian | | | | maintained fire extinguisher, you must aim it at the |
| fire-related facts that are useful knowledge to both | | | | base of the fire to be successful. |
| reduce the risk of fire and for how to respond in an | | | | 50% - Decrease in the home fire deaths and injuries |
| emergency situation. | | | | since the late 1970s when smoke alarms first |
| Fire Safety Facts: | | | | became widely available in households. |
| It takes less than 30 seconds for a small flame to | | | | 63% - Number of reported fires each year in homes |
| turn into an out-of-control fire. In 3-4 minutes, a | | | | that have either no smoke alarms or a non-working |
| house can be engulfed in thick black smoke and | | | | smoke alarm. Two-thirds of fire deaths also occur in |
| flames. If you awake to a fire, you do not have | | | | homes without working smoke alarms. |
| enough time to save valuables, you must exit the | | | | 25% - According to a National Fire Prevention survey, |
| building immediately. | | | | only one quarter of families have developed and |
| In a house fire, the room temperature can be 100 | | | | practiced a home fire escape plan. |
| degree Fahrenheit at floor level and rise to nearly 600 | | | | Forest Fires in Canada: |
| degrees at eye level. Smoke and toxic gases kill | | | | 10,100 - The average number of forest fires that |
| more people than flames do. To exit a burning | | | | occur each year in Canada. British Columbia is the |
| building, cover your mouth with your shirt and crawl | | | | province with the most fires each year (1,704) and |
| on the floor. | | | | Prince Edward Island has the least (22). |
| The most common cause of fires in the home are | | | | 58% -The percentage of fires caused by people |
| smoking, cooking, heating equipment and candles. | | | | 42% - The percentage of fires caused by lightning |
| More fires start in the kitchen than in any other place | | | | 400 million - The amount spent by British Columbia's |
| in the home. | | | | government fighting forest fires in 2009. There were |
| The worst months for fires in the home are | | | | over 3,000 forest fires this year in B.C., burning more |
| December, January and February. In the winter | | | | than 2,105 square kilometers (210,579 hectares). |
| months, smoke and heating equipment malfunctions | | | | Well, there you have it. These are some eye-opening |
| cause the most fires. | | | | statistics about the dangers of fire in Canada. With a |
| In Canada and the United States, fire kills almost | | | | greater emphasis on fire safety planning, we can |
| 5,000 people each year. Residential fires account for | | | | continue to reduce the number of deaths from fires |
| 73% of all fatalities. | | | | each year and make life safer for Canadians. |
| A household fire is reported to a fire department in | | | | |