Fire Safety and Prevention

Fire Prevention

The Township of Wellesley Fire Department provides fire inspections on request and or complaint.

• Request Inspection Base Rate (report guaranteed within two weeks) $110.00
• Request Inspection Rush Rate (if report is required within 5 days) $165.00
• Request Inspection Hourly Rate for every hour $85.00/hr
• Fire Code Re-inspection (first inspection and first-re-inspection-no charge) $105.00

Property owners or representatives can request inspections prior to purchasing or obtain a file search of the property for $80.00 (Fire Department fee only- does not include planning or building department charges)

Starting in 2017, the Township Fire Department will be implementing a recommendation from our recently completed Fire Master Plan to perform fire inspections in all farm based businesses/shops within the Township. Business owners will be notified well in advance of a time for their shops to be inspected.

Keep fire safety in mind as temperatures drop!

The Township of Wellesley Fire Department is urging everyone to keep fire safety in mind as the temperatures turn colder.  There are more home fires during the winter months due to heating equipment and appliances, pay close attention to potential fire hazards such as fireplaces, furnaces, chimneys and vents, and space heaters."  

There are some simple things people can do to stay fire safe during the colder months: 

• Have all fuel-burning appliances inspected annually by a registered fuel contractor. Go to COSafety.ca to find a contractor near you.
• Keep chimneys and intake/exhaust vents for furnaces and heating appliances free of debris, ice and snow accumulations to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) build-up from inefficient combustion.
• Burn dry, well-seasoned wood in fireplaces and woodstoves to reduce the risk of excessive creosote build-up in chimneys.
• Allow ashes from your fireplace or woodstove to cool before emptying them into a metal container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep the container outside.
• Keep space heaters at least one meter (3 feet) away from anything that can burn, including curtains, upholstery and clothing.
• Replace worn or damaged electrical wires and connections on vehicles and extension cords and use the proper gauge extension cord for vehicle block heaters.
• Consider using approved timers for vehicle block heaters rather than leaving heaters on all night.
• Ensure that vehicles are not left running inside any garage or building.
• Ensure there is a working smoke alarm on every floor and outside all sleeping areas of your home.
• Install CO alarms to alert you to the presence of this deadly gas.

The Ontario Fire Code requires smoke alarms to be installed on every floor of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Carbon monoxide alarms are required outside all sleeping areas if the home has a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. For more information about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, or fire safety, contact the fire department 519-699-3956.

Sleepover Fire Safety for Children

If your child is planning to sleep over with a friend, make sure the home is safe from fire. Here are some things to consider: Before you say "yes"...

• Are there working smoke alarms on every floor and outside each sleeping area?
• Will the children be supervised throughout the stay?
• Do they have a home fire escape plan that includes two ways out and a meeting place outside?
• Are there two escape routes from the room where your child will be sleeping?
• Will the parents walk through their escape plan with your child?
• Are the parents cautious with smoking materials, matches and lighters, and candles?
• If the home has security bars, do they have quick release devices inside so your child can get out in an emergency?

Develop a home fire escape plan today...it could save your life tonight

Install working smoke alarms on every floor and outside all sleeping areas of your home. It's the law!

• Develop a home fire escape plan.
• Know what to do when the smoke alarm sounds. Sit down with everyone in your household and discuss how each person will get out of the home in a fire.
• Practice your escape plan with everyone in your home.
• Make sure everyone can get out quickly.
• Make sure everyone knows two ways out of each room, if possible.
• If the door of a room is blocked by smoke or fire, discuss an alternate escape route such as a window. Make sure all windows open easily. Security bars on windows should have quick-releasing devices so they can be easily removed.
• Help those who need it!
• Determine who will be responsible for helping young children, older adults, people with disabilities or anyone else who may need assistance.
• Get low and go under the smoke to the nearest safe exit.
• Most fire deaths are the result of smoke inhalation.
• Choose a meeting place outside, a safe distance from your home.
• A tree, street light or a neighbor's home are all good choices. In case of fire, everyone should go directly to this meeting place to be accounted for.
• Get out, stay out.
• Never re-enter a burning building. Once you have safely escaped, call the fire department from outside your home using a cell phone or from a neighbor's home.

Fire Safety for Older Adults

Adults 65 years and older in Ontario are at higher risk of dying by fire than any other age group.

Common fire scenarios involving adults 65 years and older:

1. People smoking in their living area or bedroom while sleepy. Burning cigarettes or ashes ignite furniture/bedding or clothing.
2. People reaching over a hot burner on the stove and igniting clothing.

Make sure a fire never starts by following these simple tips:

• If you smoke use large, deep ashtrays. If anyone in the home smokes, smoke outside. Never smoke in bed.
• Don't reach for danger! Wear tight-fitting or rolled-up sleeves when cooking and don't reach over a hot burner. Always stay in the kitchen when you are cooking.
• Always blow out candles before leaving the room.
• Ensure items that can burn are one meter away from space heaters.
• Avoid overloading the electrical outlets. Extension cords should be used only as a temporary connection.
• Avoid running cords under rugs, which can damage the cord and cause a fire.
• Install a smoke alarm on every floor of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Test smoke alarms once a month and replace the battery once a year, or whenever the low-battery warning sounds.
• Know exactly what to do and where to go if there is a fire. Plan and practice your escape! Develop a home fire escape plan or refer to your building's fire safety plan.
• Know your local emergency number. It may be 9-1-1 or the fire department's phone number.

Fire safety begins with you

Learn what to do if a fire happens in your building. This is the best way to protect yourself and those around you.

Talk to your landlord or superintendent. Know the emergency procedures outlined in the building's fire safety plan.

Every fire is different. You must act quickly when you hear the alarm or discover a fire. You must always protect yourself from smoke. Remember, most people die from the smoke, not the fire. Here is what to do.

If there is a fire in your apartment

• Tell everyone in your apartment to leave.
• Close all doors behind you.
• Pull the fire alarm on your floor and yell 'fire'.
• Leave the building using the nearest stairway.
• Call the fire department when you are safe.
• Meet the firefighters when they arrive and tell them where the fire is.

When you hear the Fire Alarm

Most of the time, the best thing to do in a fire is leave the building as soon as possible. In some cases you may not be able to leave and you may have to stay in your apartment. In either case you must act quickly. No matter what your decision you must protect yourself from the smoke.

When you leave the building

• Check the door to your apartment.
• If smoke is entering from around the door, do not open it.
• Protect yourself from smoke inside your apartment as described later in this page.

• If there is no smoke, brace yourself and open the door a little.

• If you see smoke or feel heat, close the door quickly and protect yourself.
• If the corridor is clear, take your keys, lock your door, and go to the nearest stairway.

• DO NOT USE THE ELEVATOR.
• Open the nearest stairway door carefully.

• If there is no smoke, use the stairway to leave the building.
• If there is smoke, do not enter. Close the door. Go to another stairway and open the door carefully.
• If there is no smoke here, use this stairway to leave the building.
• If there is smoke, do not enter. If there are other stairways, try them. If there are not, return to your apartment and protect yourself from smoke.

When you are inside the stairway

If you find smoke on your way down the stairs, leave that stairway as soon as you can. In some buildings, some doors leading from the stair way to the corridor may be locked. But at least every five floors the doors will not lock so you can leave the stairway.

• Use another stairway if it is clear of smoke.
• If you can't use any stairway, return to your apartment if you can, or go into any corridor and bang on apartment doors until you find a place to take shelter.
• Never go to the roof. Smoke usually rises to the top of the stairway. Doors opening onto the roof are locked and you could be trapped.
• Remember, wherever you are, if there is smoke, get low and go under the smoke to safety. The air is cleaner near the floor.

If you remain in your apartment

You must protect yourself from smoke. Stay in your apartment until you are rescued or until you are told to leave. This may take a long time. Do not try to leave your apartment a long time after the alarm has sounded. The longer you wait, the more risk there is that heavy smoke will have spread into stairways and corridors. Your chances of survival are less.

• Keep smoke from entering your apartment. Use duct tape to seal cracks around the door and place wet towels at the bottom. Seal vents or air ducts the same way.
• If smoke enters your apartment:
• Telephone the fire department, tell them where you are and then move to the balcony. Close the doors behind you.
• If you don't have a balcony, go to the most smoke-free room, close the door and seal it with tape and towels. If necessary, open the window for fresh air. Show emergency personnel where you are by hanging a sheet from the window or balcony.
• Keep low to the floor where the air is cleaner.
• Listen for instructions from authorities.