The Woolwich and Wellesley township fire stations are preparing for Fire Prevention Week, which will take place from Oct. 7 to Oct. 13.
The theme for this year’s week is Have Two Ways Out.
Despite the fact that there are fewer fire losses reported in Canada, eight Canadians die from fire every week. Most of these fires are preventable and are usually caused by careless behaviour. During the week, fire departments across the region will promote public awareness to the dangers of fire and how to protect oneself from fire.
The following week the Township of Wellesley Fire Department is hosting a live fire training tour on Oct. 20 and 21 at the Wellesley municipal office located at 4639 Lobsinger Line north of St. Clements.
The objective of the event is to provide hands-on training on various firefighter skills using Dräger equipment, said Wendy Smith, administrative assistant at the fire department.
The Wellesley Fire Department will provide firefighting trainers and will provide certification to all firefighters who participate in the training. The event is offered to volunteer fire departments where this kind of training is not readily available.
Over the two days, 56 firefighters will be taking courses in flashover training, exterior vertical propane tank fire, fire extinguisher training, confined spaces and search and rescue exercises.
“The firemen will have a lot to do and will learn quite a lot especially how to deal with certain things that can arise during a fire,” said Smith. “During the flashover training for instance the firefighters will learn how to deal with that occurrence and better protect themselves.”
Flashover is one of the most-feared occurrences among firefighters. They are taught to recognize rollovers and flashovers and avoid backdrafts.
A flashover is the simultaneous ignition of an exposed material in an enclosed area. It occurs when the majority of the exposed surfaces in a space is heated to its hottest temperature and emits flammable gases. Flashovers normally occur at 500°C.
“A flashover is when there is a fire that is as hot as it can get and when a fire is at its hottest level it looks as if it has gone out and then there is a huge flash and that occurs when oxygen comes in contact with it. The firefighters will be creating that kind of atmosphere and will be observing and learning nozzle techniques to delay the flashover,” said Smith.
