Fire Services encourages public to buy home fire extinguishers (6 photos)

Fire extinguisher demonstrations, an information booth and a chance for children to look in and around a Sault Fire Services truck were available to the public as Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 6 to 12) wrapped up at the Sault’s Canadian Tire parking lot Saturday.

“This year we’re focusing on home escape plans,” said Aaron Gravelle, Sault Fire Services public education officer, speaking to SooToday before demonstrating how to use a fire extinguisher.

“They do escape plans in school every year, people do them at work, but nobody does them at home and the majority of fires are residential, so we want to make sure people know what to do.”

The law requires every home to have a working smoke alarm, but Gravelle said “we always recommend having a fire extinguisher on every floor of your home. It’s not the law, but we do recommend having them. This is why we’re doing free demonstrations for people today, to try them out and see how it is in front of an actual live fire,” Gravelle said.

“Standing about four or five feet away, you follow the PASS acronym, meaning ‘pull, aim, squeeze and sweep.’ When you’re aiming the fire extinguisher, you want to aim at the base of the fire, not at the flames and smoke.”

Home fire extinguishers, Gravelle said, contain powder, and range in price from $20 to $50, available at pretty much any hardware store, including Canadian Tire and Home Depot.

Gravelle said most people don’t realize fire extinguishers are empty after 25 to 30 seconds, the devices needing to be recharged (or people can simply purchase a new one).

Demonstrations of proper fire extinguisher use can be arranged by calling Sault Fire Services at (705) 949-3333.

Previously, Sault Fire Services were getting the safety message out at Home Depot, Station Mall and Walmart during this year’s Fire Prevention Week.