By Sean Tracey, Deputy Chief (retired)
Chair HFSC Canada
Fire safety is an essential component of community safety. But years of experience has taught me that the vast majority of the public take fire safety for granted. As a framework for public safety we have stringent building codes, a regime of building fire inspectors, public education campaigns, and a certification regime for consumer products. Each component is essential in weaving a safety net for our communities. But if the public recognizes these elements, they likely don’t understand just how fragile each component is.
For example: Building codes are only good when they are enforced. There are new construction materials and assemblies being adopted that may not be tested for their impact on fire safety. Municipalities underfund fire inspections, so these are not performed. And no one inspects single-family homes for fire safety. Public Education campaigns must compete for the public’s attention. Counterfeit products flood the market, exposing buyers to a wide range of risks and dangers. Even legitimate products are misused by consumers, leading to fires. The current concerns regarding lithium-ion batteries are just one example.
The weave of the safety net is very fragile and when it breaks, we have fires and injuries. Today’s home fires are faster and more deadly than just two decades ago and as a result we are seeing an increase in fire deaths in North America.
Despite all this, the public typically believes that they are not vulnerable to fires. When they see these fires occurring, they see the tragedy in a detached manner because it wasn’t them, or someone they know, or in their neighbourhood. Their personal good fortune leads to complacency.
As a result of their overexaggerated sense of security, they don’t pause to look at how fires could be prevented. When there is no appreciation of actual risk, people don’t take time to understand how today’s modern contents leads to such rapid-fire growth in homes. Nor do they realize or understand specifically how open home designs add to the severity of fire when it occurs.
It is to tackle this dangerous lack of personal fire risk awareness that we hold a Fire Prevention Week and a Home Fire Sprinkler Week in Canada each year. These are opportunities to educate consumers, officials and local media. I recognize it’s not easy. We safety advocates must compete to try to grab a few moments of time and attention. Everyone has busy schedules. To be successful, we must up our game.
Getting New Homes Protected with Fire Sprinklers
But our job is essential. The average consumer is trusting that the home they purchase is fire safe. But if that home is not sprinklered, it is actually substandard, and they’ll be at risk for fire regardless of how new it is. Decades of educating homebuyers has not generated large numbers of sprinkler adoptions. Rather, the greatest success has come from working directly with local officials, developers and builders to educate about the benefits of building with sprinklers.
This method works. When local officials reach out to builders and developers ahead of approvals, they can use sprinkler incentives to reduce or eliminate many costs. Often, the installation of sprinklers also allows for more density, opening the opportunity for more builder and developer profit. HFSC Canada has an abundance of information and free resources about sprinkler incentives online. And through our Lunch and Learn series we have helped municipalities successfully promote incentives to their builders and developers. You can best learn about incentives and HFSC Canada resources by becoming a Built for Life Fire Department (there’s no charge to your department).
Reaching Consumers Directly
Members of the fire services have increasingly understood the need to become current and relevant in their social media messaging. Many departments use the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to get in front of the public and some are branching out to additional platforms to reach young audiences, such as TikTok, Threads and more. But adopting a social media outreach program is a commitment. It’s essential to use timely and factual information. To readily compete on these platforms requires consistent engagement and monitoring. HFSC Canada continues to make this easier for you by providing proven social media resources you can easily access and share. Home Fire Sprinkler Week contains a whole week’s worth of ready-made messaging each May. All these resources are free for you. All you have to do is share them.
HFSC Canada has also worked to bring in innovative tools to simplify your local educational efforts and expand your reach. This includes Virtual Reality headsets and video tools that simulate being in a home fire in both a sprinkler protected and non-protected home. Our VR tools use actual home fire video footage – not animation – so you can trust that your audience is getting factual and high-quality education from you. You can download these videos at: https://homefiresprinklercanada.ca/
Just as fires have evolved so must our public safety messaging and campaigns. HFSC Canada has made this an easier task for you and your department with a wealth of free information. Becoming a Built for Life Fire Department assures you of timely access to these free resources. Consider registering your department now. Visit https://homefiresprinklercanada.ca/
