Powell River firefighters are preparing events to mark Fire Prevention Week, October 7 to 13.
Powell River Fire Rescue and Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department are both holding open houses on Saturday, October 13.
Firefighters at the No. 1 fire hall at 6965 Courtenay Street will showcase a fire extinguisher demonstration from 1 to 3 pm. An automobile extrication will be featured at Malaspina’s main fire hall, located at 9999 Highway 101 from 11 am to 3 pm.
There will be displays of rescue equipment and emergency planning tools at both fire halls, as well as hot dogs, a free draw to win a smoke detector and safety tips that could save lives.
Powell River Fire Rescue is also holding a photo contest. Residents are invited to submit pictures showing someone testing a smoke detector. The winner will receive a home safety package. “We’ve done a really good job of putting smoke detectors into homes,” said Trish Greenwood, the department’s coordinator/public educator. “Now we need to make sure that the ones that are there are actually working.”
People need to test their smoke detectors, Greenwood said, and make sure they have not expired, because they do expire after about 10 years. “They actually have a little sticker on the side that tells you when they expire,” she said.
People should also make sure the batteries are installed properly and are charged. A good time to check batteries is at the beginning and end of Daylight Saving Time, she added.
Contest details are available on the department’s Facebook page. “Creativity is encouraged, although we have reserved the right to not post photos that are inappropriate,” said Greenwood.
Greenwood has been involved in switching over to CodeRED, since Emergency Communications Network acquired One Call Now, the previous system that the department used. CodeRED is an automated system that calls homes and businesses to contact them about emergencies or notifications. The system also directs residents to take specific actions during an emergency.
The technology has a web-based mapping interface that allows officials to target their messages to exact geographic areas. In the event of an emergency, the system can either contact all landline phones in the entire region or alert only a specific neighbourhood or group of residences.
The City of Powell River invested in One Call Now in 2011. In May of this year, Powell River Regional District directors voted to support the expansion of the service throughout the entire region, from Lasqueti Island up to Savary Island and from Saltery Bay to Lund as part of the Powell River Regional Emergency Program.
The department uses both the geo-mapping portion for the community and a roster function for its call-out groups, such as ESS (Emergency Social Services), Powell River Search and Rescue and the fire department.
Currently, the system sends messages to landlines only. Greenwood said they are working on a registration process for people with cellphones. People will be able to add their cellphone numbers and map them to their home. “If there is an emergency at your home, you’ll get that [message] to your cellphone,” she said.
Messages contain information that includes the scope of the emergency, what areas are affected and what officials want residents to do, if anything, as well as how to get more information.
CodeRED also has a mobile app that people can install on their smart phones, Greenwood said. “It will allow you to be notified of alerts if you go into someone else’s region,” she said. “If you’re down in the States and you go into an area where there’s been a hurricane warning and they’re using CodeRED, your phone will go off and say you just entered a CodeRED alert zone.”
Greenwood will be testing the system this week and expects the cellphone registration process to be up and running in the near future.
