Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/68789
Don't get burned In the rush to fortify your home against intruders, don't forget about another common home-safety hazard: fi re. CUT THE RISK Despite the best efforts of Canadian fi re- prevention groups, the leading cause of house- hold fi res is still unattended cooking. So don't leave the room with that stovetop turned on. If you do have to answer the phone while cooking, hold onto your spatula, suggests Mark Hoveling, offi cer with Lethbridge's Fire Prevention Bureau, so you'll remember the stove. And whether it's the oven or the microwave emitting black smoke, don't introduce oxygen by opening the appliance's door. The roast is ruined already. Turn off the heat or unplug the microwave, open the window and wait for cool-down. KNOW THE DRILL Do you have a fi re evacuation plan? Because you need one – on paper and posted somewhere visible in your home. It should take no longer than three minutes to execute and include, at minimum, the fi re department's emergency number, a safe meeting place outside the home and a fl oor plan identifying two exits from each room (see 3minutedrill.alberta.ca). People can be overcome by smoke and toxic fumes within three minutes, says Mahendra Wijayasinghe, research and analysis manager in the Offi ce of the Fire Commissioner of Alberta Municipal Affairs, while the average response time for fi re crews is seven minutes. So get out immediately, and call 911 from your neighbour's. Most fi re deaths occur at night, so practis- ing evacuations (once or twice per year) in typi- cal conditions is key. "People wake up groggy, perhaps after taking medication, and they can end up in closets because they get disoriented in the dark," says Wijayasinghe. He suggests pressing the alarm button when your family is sleeping. Roll out of bed and crawl (where air would be clearest) out in the dark, for a more realistic estimate of distance to exits. Masterfile WESTWORLD >> JUNE 2012 61