LIFE-SAVING TIPS:
- Install smoke alarms inside and outside all bedrooms and in all principal buildings.
- Install the appropriate fire extinguishers in key areas.
- Work with the local fire department to develop and practice a fire escape plan with family and employees, and determine a meeting place.
- Identify who may require special assistance (the elderly and handicapped).
- Make sure buildings are well-spaced.
- Keep cistern and stock pond relatively full and provide clear access to water source.
- Ensure that appropriate fire protection equipment is accessible.
CHECKLIST:
- Keep fire department numbers posted on all telephones.
- Ensure all electrical wiring is inspected and up to code.
- Ensure all electrical equipment has a nationally recognized testing agency certification.
- Replace worn wiring and use only 15 amp fuses unless otherwise specified.
- Remove wiring and lighting from wet areas.
- Inspect and maintain fire extinguishers regularly.
MACHINERY/EQUIPMENT – KEEP IT CLEAN, SAFE AND INSPECTED:
- Before installing heating equipment, check product certification and insurance requirements.
- Ensure that the pump is on a separate electrical circuit and located away from other buildings, to safeguard the pressure of the water supply for fire fighters.
- Refuel equipment and internal combustion engines outside, but never while running and only once cool.
- Ensure that crop dryers are equipped with adequate controls enabling them to shut off blowers or dampers when temperatures become too high in the heat transfer chamber.
- Never use “home-made” dryers.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
- Designate safe smoking areas away from barns, crops, stores or flammable materials.
- Before burning, check regulations with your local authority.
- Burn rubbish in an incinerator equipped with a spark arrestor and never in a high wind.
- Keep a pail of water nearby.
- Never carry out field burning.
- Do not use fumigants near an open flame or electric equipment.
- Clean up. Remove all trash from the property.
- Repaint weathered surfaces and remove rotting wood and fencing.
SAFE STORAGE: SPONTANEOUS IGNITION OF CROPS CAUSES FIRES
BEFORE STORING:
- Provide proper ventilation.
- Ensure crops – hay, alfafa, clover, soybean hays – are well-dried and properly cured.
- Make sure wet grains are below the safe moisture content before storage.
- Check for spontaneous heating hazards regularly, e.g. manure pile.
- Repair leaking roofs and openings to protect stored crops against wetness.
DURING STORAGE:
- Inspect daily for signs of steaming, irritating odours, wet areas and “flues” in the hay for several weeks.
- Have fire fighting equipment immediately accessible.
- Petroleum products should be stored above ground at least 12 metres (40 feet) from any other building, in a tank on non-combustible support. In all cases vent pipes not less than 3 centimetres (1 1/4″) in diameter and cap them with weatherproof hoods.
- Petroleum products should be dispensed from storage tanks with appropriate
(Source: Fire Prevention Canada)