Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware – fire can happen anywhere.
That’s the theme for Fire Prevention Week which runs through Saturday.
Assistant Chief of the Saskatoon Fire Department explains that we should look for places in our home where fires could start and mitigate any chances of that happening.
For instance, the number one place for fires to flare up in homes is on the stove, so Wayne Rodger suggests not leaving your cooking unattended and keeping combustibles like paper towels well away from the heat.
Listen for the sound of the smoke alarms which should be installed in your home and make sure you know of two ways out of each room.
Rodger says it’s a good idea to make an evacuation plan and have fire drills with the whole family.

To provoke some thought, a National Fire Protection Association statistic indicates we are more likely to die of a home fire now than we were decades ago.
The fire death rate in Canada per 1-thousand home fires was 10 per cent higher in 2016 than it was in 1980.
Assistant Chief Wayne Rodger explains that our homes now house much more synthetic material which burns quicker and hotter.
Plus, the design of homes is more toward open concept, whereas rooms used to be more compartmentalized.
That way you could shut a door and it would keep the fire at bay for awhile.
There is also more lightweight construction material used in home building these days.
Rodger explains that where a 2 X 30 (2 by 10) floor joist might have been used, it is more often a pair of 2 X 4s now with plywood webbing, which burns much faster because it’s not as solid.