Our team is committed to keeping you and your family safe. Please take advantage of the many fire prevention and education programs we offer and contact CSFD at 250-544-4238.
Test Your Smoke Alarms
If a fire starts in your home while you are asleep, you want to know about it immediately. Some homes are equipped with electrically connected smoke alarms that may not work when the power is out. Make sure your home has a battery-operated smoke alarm on every level. It is also a good idea to have a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector.
Smoke Alarm Maintenance Schedule
Home fires kill eight Canadians a week. Most of these deaths could be prevented by taking a few precautions. Follow these tips from Fire Prevention Canada to help protect you and your family from home fires.
Every Month | Test your alarm by pressing the button on your smoke alarm and keeping it pressed down; the alarm should sound. If your alarm has no button, it is outdated and must be replaced. Another way to test the alarm is by holding a freshly extinguished candle under it. The alarm should sound within 20 seconds. Let air circulate to get rid of the smoke and allow the alarm to turn off. |
Twice a Year | Change the batteries in all smoke alarms (for example, when you change your clocks in the fall and spring). |
Every Two Years | Clean your smoke alarm by taking the cover off and cleaning it with a damp cloth, carefully vacuuming the inside of the alarm, and then with the cover back on, make sure the alarm is working. |
Every Ten Years | Replace your smoke alarm. Some models last as little as five years. |
If Your Smoke Alarm is Not Working
- Replace the battery
- Check fuses and circuit-breakers, or call an electrician. There may be an electrical problem in your home.
- If these steps do not help, the alarm may be defective. Replace it immediately.
- When you take out the alarm battery, always replace it with another one immediately.
- Do you need assistance. Our department would be happy to assist. Call our office to book an appointment at 250.544.4238
Smoke Alarm Rules
The Housing and Construction Standards section on the BC Government’s website has detailed information on the Smoke Alarm Rules.
Notice: Smoke alarms are now required in homes, hotels and motels built before 1979 under new rules. The BC Government amended the provincial fire code to make battery-operated smoke alarms mandatory in older buildings, effective May 1, 2010.
Do You Have an Escape Plan?
Fire safety also depends on every member of the household knowing what to do and having an escape plan. If you do not have an emergency plan, take a few minutes to create one today.
These tips have been brought to you by Public Safety Canada in cooperation with the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, with information provided by Fire Prevention Canada.
Your Central Saanich Fire Department is excited to announce the launch of their new Reflective Address Sign Program and is asking residents to help make their homes easier to find by marking their driveways.
In an emergency, every second counts. A few minutes may be too late in a medical emergency or fire. The quicker we can reach your home in a crisis, the faster we can help. After nightfall or in adverse weather conditions, it can be challenging to identify a house or locate a particular driveway, especially in rural areas.
To make your home easier to find at any time, we are asking that you participate in the Reflective Address Sign Program. The Program provides a prominent way of displaying your home address and helps our emergency personnel deliver the assistance of need quickly during an emergency.
Used in many municipalities, these blue and white reflective markers are all the same colour and shape and are easier to see by approaching emergency responders during night hours or bad weather conditions.
"Our rural community has a variety of complex and hidden driveways and during dusk, dawn and at night it can be a challenge to locate the proper house number when responding to an emergency,” said Kenn Mount, Fire Chief for Central Saanich. “With the addition of a reflective marker sign, we can see and verify the correct address immediately and not waste time trying to look for the correct driveway to your home.”
HOW MUCH?
Residents can order a sign for a flat fee of $65 payable in person by cash, cheque, credit or debit.
WHERE DO I PURCHASE?
In person at Municipal Hall, located at 1903 Mount Newton Cross Rd.
HOW DO I RECEIVE IT ONCE PURCHASED?
Once the sign is ready, our firefighters will assist with installation to ensure optimal and safe placement.
QUESTIONS?
Please contact the Fire Department at 250-544-4238 or fdadmin@csaanich.ca for more details.
Please help us help you. Order your sign today!
DOWNLOAD HERE: PURCHASE FORM
We offer training to local businesses and community groups about fire behavior and extinguishment, hazard recognition, and how to use of a fire extinguisher.
Schools and community groups are invited to tour the fire station where we educate them about smoke alarms, household fire safety, and how to escape from fire.
CPR/AED and First Aid, including relief from choking, is offered to community groups, newborn mother’s groups, middle school and high school students.
Is your child’s car seat correctly fitted to your vehicle? Contact us to have your car seat inspected by a certified child restraint technician.
Home Safety Tips
Clothes dryer fires can occur when lint builds up in the dryer or in the exhaust duct. Lint can block the flow of air, cause excessive heat build-up, and result in a fire.
Here are some tips to help prevent dryer fires:
Never leave your house with the dryer still running; if a fire starts you won’t be there to take corrective action.
Lint build-up is the leading cause of dryer fires. Lint accumulation, in the dryer and dryer vent, reduces airflow which creates a highly combustible source. Remove lint from the filter before or after each use.
Clean behind the dryer, where lint can build up.
Restricted dryer vents cause reduced air flow and high temperatures in the dryer. Look for lint accumulation and any other blockages and have them fixed.
Use a sheet-metal or non combustible code compliant dryer vent. If a fire starts in a plastic exhaust pipe it can melt away quickly, increasing the chances that fire will spread.
Tidy up: Do not pile up laundry or other items on top of the dryer or near the sides, the fewer combustible materials around the dryer, the better.
Take special care when drying clothes that have been soiled with chemicals such as , cooking oils, cleaning agents, or finishing oils and stains. To prevent clothes from igniting after drying, do not leave the dried clothes in the dryer or piled in a laundry basket.
Good fire safety planning includes knowing two ways out of your home.
In a winter storm, your exits may become blocked by snow or fallen trees, or be frozen shut by ice. Try your exits to make sure they are accessible.
Inform everyone in your home about the fire safety rules they must follow.
Conduct regular safety checks of each room and keep a watchful eye on children and older adults.
Make sure everyone knows the fire escape plan.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless and colourless gas produced when fuel is burned. CO is poisonous. Because you can’t smell it, you can be poisoned before you have time to get to safety. CO poisoning can cause death in as little as one to three minutes. Even when it’s not fatal, acute and long-term exposure to CO can cause serious health problems.
CO is produced by:
- Vehicles
- Small engines
- Stoves
- Fireplaces
- Gas ranges
- BBQs
- Portable generators
- Furnaces
To prevent CO poisoning:
Follow the manufacturers’ instructions on all fuel-burning appliances
Never use a portable generator, BBQ, camp stove or other similar device indoors, including inside a garage or other enclosed or partially enclosed areas
Only operate portable generators outdoors and at a location where the exhaust cannot enter your home or other buildings through doors or windows
Use a CO detector at home, including if you have a home with natural gas forced air heating
More Information
FortisBCas information on preventing carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and CO alarms.
Health Canada produces a tip sheet on carbon monoxide and how to prevent poisoning.
- Think carefully before you bring a fuel-burning appliance into your home. Any device that burns fuel requires oxygen to provide complete combustion and ventilation to remove the products of combustion. Any device fueled by natural gas, propane, heating oil, kerosene, coal, charcoal, gasoline or wood produces carbon monoxide.
- Use only portable space heaters that have been designed for indoor, residential use.
- Before using a portable heater, review the manufacturer’s recommendations for usage and follow the instructions carefully. Only use the fuel for which the appliance was designed.
- When using the heater, provide adequate ventilation by opening a window slightly.
- Before refueling, turn off the heater, wait for it to cool and take the heater outside to refill.
- Never use propane or charcoal barbecues indoors. They are designed for outdoor use only. It is preferable to eat a cold meal than die from carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Keep all heaters at least 1m (3 ft) away from combustible materials, including drapes, carpeting, and furniture.
- Turn portable space heaters off when you are not in the room and before you go to bed.
- If you are using a wood stove, be careful with the ashes. Always empty ashes into a covered metal container and store them outside away from combustibles.
- If you have not used your fireplace or woodstove for a long time, have it checked by a professional technician before using it. Your chimney may be blocked or damaged, which could cause a fire or a build-up of carbon monoxide inside the home.
- Generators should not be brought inside the home for any reason.
- Before going to bed, do a quick check of every room to make sure candles are out and heaters are off. Wear several layers of clothing to preserve body heat.