News Releases

Fire Prevention Week is wrapping up, but that doesn’t mean that practicing fire safety and prevention has to! This week, we’ve focused on three basic principles: Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere. Topics including smoke alarms, home escape plans, and heating safety have been linked to the importance of remembering to LOOK, LISTEN, and LEARN when considering fire safety and prevention.

Today, we’ll look at cooking safety to learn of how you can keep your dreams of becoming a professional chef from going up in smoke! Whether you’re cooking up a package of Kraft Dinner for yourself or a turkey feast for your friends and family, the Saskatoon Fire Department has the following tips for you:

• Fires start when your attention stops; always be alert and aware when cooking,
• Keep combustible materials a safe distance from all cooking appliances that are capable of producing heat,
• Never wear loose fitting clothing when cooking,
• Use a timer to remind you to monitor your cooking,
• Always remain in your home when you are cooking,
• Keep the handles of pots and pans turned inwards when cooking,
• Smother small fires in pots and pans by covering them with a lid and turning off the stove,
• Suffocate small oven fires by turning off the oven and keeping the door closed, and
• If you are unable to extinguish a fire on your own, leave your home immediately and call 911; stay outside while you wait for the Saskatoon Fire Department to arrive.

In an emergency, seconds count; cooking responsibly and knowing what to do if things turn sideways on you can be the difference in preventing a tragedy in your home.

Always remember: Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.

In an emergency, call 911 immediately.

Sweeping begins Monday on streets with a dense tree canopy to collect leaves that can block catch basins and prevent proper drainage during the spring snow melt. Neighbourhoods included are Buena Vista, Caswell Hill, City Park, Holiday Park, King George, Mayfair, Nutana, Riversdale and Varsity View.

Look for yellow No Parking signs in advance of street sweeping, beginning with City Park Streets and Varsity View Avenues on Monday. Vehicles remaining on a scheduled street at 8 a.m. will get a parking ticket and be relocated.

“I urge people to plan ahead and pay attention to the parking restriction signs to help manage the program budget,” says Brandon Harris, Director of Roadways & Operations. “Towing costs are not fully recovered by parking tickets, and can affect how much sweeping we do if we can’t lower those expenses for next year.”

In 2017, the sweeping locations were adjusted to concentrate on areas with the highest risk for flooding. As a result more than 230 properties were protected from potential flood damage in the spring.

“Now that we are confident in the neighbourhood selection, we are changing up our tactics for a portion of the sweep to test and compare new methods of debris pickup, reduce the risk related to temperature, and keep our production rate higher later into the season,” says Harris.

The first eight days of the program will remain the same as in other years, with sweeping scheduled in all nine neighbourhoods. On October 25, staff will be reassigned for a week to finish winter operation preparations. As long as crews aren't cleaning up snow, leaf removal will resume on skipped roads in the same neighbourhoods using different equipment, going around parked vehicles.

Don’t get swept away this fall! Find your sweep date at saskatoon.ca/sweep with our new look-up application.

This Fire Prevention Week, the Saskatoon Fire Department has been emphasizing three basic principles of fire safety and prevention: Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere. We’ve covered the importance of needing to LISTEN for the sound of your smoke alarm and LEARN the details of your home escape plan; today, we will examine heating safety and why it’s important to LOOK around your home for potential fire hazards.

Winter in Saskatchewan can often have us looking to heat our homes in a hurry! Heating equipment is a key contributor to home fires and burn injuries over the winter months. Consider the following safety tips when warming up this winter:

• Do not leave space heaters running when you leave the room or go to sleep,
• Never use space heaters to dry combustible items,
• Do not use your oven to heat your home,
• Keep children and pets at least one metre away from fireplaces and space heaters,
• Do not store combustible materials within one metre of your furnace or other heating equipment,
• Keep all heat sources free from dust, lint, and chemical product,
• Place a screen in front of your wood-burning or gas fireplace, and
• Have a reputable and qualified company install and maintain all heating equipment; inspect gas or oil burning furnaces annually.

The Saskatoon Fire Department wants you to stay warm this winter, but we want you to stay safe, too! When looking around your home for potential fire hazards, be sure to check your heating equipment thoroughly while considering the above noted tips for heating safety.

In an emergency, seconds count; being cautious when it comes to heating can be the difference in preventing a tragedy in your home.

To finish off Fire Prevention Week, we’ll look at the leading cause of home fires: Cooking; tune in tomorrow to learn of how you can keep your dreams of becoming a professional chef from going up in smoke!

Always remember: Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.

In an emergency, call 911 immediately.

The 2018 theme for Fire Prevention Week is Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere. Yesterday, the Saskatoon Fire Department shared information on smoke alarms in your home and why it’s important to LISTEN for its sound; smoke alarms are also a key component to an effective and reliable home escape plan. Home escape planning is critical in ensuring you are prepared to safely exit your home in the event of an emergency; be sure to LEARN the details of your home escape plan and practice it during the day, as well as at night.

Important tips to consider when developing a plan that suits your home and its occupants include:

• Visualizing the layout of your home; clearly identify all doors and windows on your plan,
• Finding two ways out of every room and clearing the path to all doors and windows,
• Not including the use of an elevator in your plan,
• Selecting a safe meeting location outside of your home,
• Remembering to call 911 once you are safely out of your home, and
• Confirming that occupants and guests are familiar with your home escape plan.

When your smoke alarm sounds, follow your home escape plan to safely exit your home. It’s important that you get out immediately and stay out while you wait for the Saskatoon Fire Department to arrive.

In an emergency, seconds count; having an effective and reliable home escape plan can be the difference in preventing a tragedy in your home.

Tomorrow we’ll learn about heating safety, and how you can safely keep warm this winter!

Always remember: Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.

In an emergency, call 911 immediately.

Fire Prevention Week puts the focus on practical and informative topics related to fire safety and prevention. This year’s theme is Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere. The Saskatoon Fire Department knows that smoke alarms save lives and are therefore worth knowing a bit more about! Smoke alarms are a key component to one’s home, and it’s important you LISTEN to know their sound and leave your home when they are sounding.

Each smoke alarm may produce a slightly different tone; however, all smoke alarms are intended to alert you to the possibility of a fire in your home. To keep your smoke alarms in good working order, they need to:

• Be tested at least monthly,
• Have the batteries replace yearly, and
• Be replaced every 10 years, even if they are hard-wired.

Smoke alarms must be installed on every level of your home where people sleep. Place them on a ceiling or high up on a wall close to every sleeping area. It’s best to keep smoke alarms a reasonable distance away from cooking appliances to avoid false alarms. Listen for the sound of your smoke alarm when testing it to familiarize yourself with its tone. If you are hard-of-hearing or otherwise unable to hear the alarm, consider installing a smoke alarm that is equipped with a strobe light to alert you to the potential danger.

In an emergency, seconds count; a functioning smoke alarm can be the difference in preventing a tragedy in your home. Smoke alarms are also an integral element to home escape plans; be sure to check back tomorrow for the Saskatoon Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Week information around home escape plans!

Always remember: Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.

In an emergency, call 911 immediately.