The City of Toronto’s Fire Services has partnered with the Toronto Raptors to launch an advertising and public education campaign on fire safety. The campaign urges people: “Install, test and maintain your smoke alarms. And make a fast break. Always have a fire escape plan. Learn how to keep your home safe from fire at toronto.ca/FireSafety.”
The campaign image features Raptors OG Anunoby, Marc Gasol and Stanley Johnson. Two Toronto Fire Services honour guards are also featured on the poster for a role they played during an emergency while on shift in June this year.
The public education component will be carried out beginning now and throughout the winter in conjunction with the ad campaign. Firefighters will visit schools, community centres, libraries, arenas and businesses to convey the message to be extra cautious and safe during the holidays. The campaign includes posters, banners, information cards, digital ads and social media spots featuring the slogan “Keep the fire on the court.”
For the launch of this campaign, Kidde Canada has donated to Toronto Fire Services 5,000 smoke alarms and 700 carbon monoxide alarms, both with 10-year, hassle-free batteries. Toronto Fire Services will give the alarms to the Daily Bread Food Bank to include in its holiday drive food baskets.
Winter is the season when fires and carbon monoxide incidents typically rise in Toronto. Common causes of this increase are unmaintained heating equipment, improper use of candles and decorations, and unsafe cooking behaviors.
Toronto Fire Services reminds everyone that the Ontario Fire Code requires smoke alarms to be installed on every floor of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Carbon monoxide alarms are required outside all sleeping areas if the home has a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage.
Quotes:
“I want to thank our Toronto Fire service and the Toronto Raptors for working together to help keep Toronto families safe. We know that the risk of home-heating fires goes up this time of year and that nearly all those fires are preventable. We can reduce the number of home-heating fires in our community by taking some simple precautions and using heating equipment properly.”
– Mayor John Tory
“We often see more home fires during the winter months due to heating equipment and appliances. Install working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home – it is the only way to ensure you receive that early notification in the event of a fire or carbon monoxide emergency.”
– Fire Chief Matthew Pegg
Toronto Fire Services delivers public education programs to the residents who are most at risk, in line with the Fire Protection and Prevention Act. Fire Services typically delivers messaging to children, seniors and single-family dwelling owners. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/firesafety.
Daily Bread Food Bank works toward long-term solutions to hunger and runs innovative programs to support people on low incomes. Daily Bread distributes fresh and shelf-stable food, as well as fresh-cooked meals to more than 130 member agencies and 170 food programs across Toronto, including food banks and meal programs for shelters and drop-ins. To learn more about Daily Bread Food Bank, visit http://www.dailybread.ca.
As a leading manufacturer of fire safety products, Kidde designs and develops smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers and more. It’s a wide range of solutions, but they all share a common purpose – protecting people and property from the effects of fire and its related hazards. To learn more about Kidde Canada, visit https://www.kidde.com/fire-safety/en/ca/.
Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture, and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit http://www.toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.