Stay safe over Canada Day weekend with these fire prevention tips
Long weekend fire accidents can be easily prevented if Canadians are well informed about how to properly handle fireworks and fire pits.

ourwindsor.ca
June 29, 2017
By Veronica Appia

It’s all fun and games until someone gets burned.

According to Vaughan Fire Chief Larry Bentley, Canada Day weekend results in burns for many who partake in seemingly harmless family activities - accidents that can be easily prevented by taking the proper precautions while spending time around fireworks or fire pits.

Fireworks

Bentley’s first recommendation when it comes to consumer fireworks? Don’t buy them at all.

“Quite frankly, dealing with consumer fireworks is always dangerous," Bentley said. "Why not go watch a professional display?”

For those adamant on setting off their own sparkling spectacle this weekend, Natural Resources Canada has a list of tips to follow to ensure the safety of the person igniting the fireworks as well as the onlookers surrounding them.

Bentley cites a few extra safety precautions he says are sometimes overlooked:

Read the instructions on the package of fireworks

• The instruction labels will tell you the majority of rules you need to know prior to lighting fireworks, such as distances, what to use and how to properly tinker the fireworks in sand.
• Don't light a bunch of them at once
• Properly dispose of them when you're done.
• It's important to put them in a bucket of water, or a bucket of sand after use.
• Keep water nearby

Whether it's a hose or a bucket, it's better safe than sorry.

Bentley says one of the most common missteps when handling fireworks is that consumers do not properly immerse the base in sand or dirt, leaving the fireworks loose and capable of shooting off in virtually any direction.

"I’ve witnessed somewhere, (the fireworks) have actually fallen over and shot flaming balls along the ground towards people," Bentley said. " So I think one of the most important things is to have a responsible adult who sets them off."

For Canadians with young children, Bentley cautions, beware of sparklers.

When giving children sparklers it is important to keep them supervised at all times and to ensure they are only holding one at a time, he said.

"A lot of children get burned," Bentley added. "Sometimes children are wearing flammable clothing...nylon clothing or all the stuff we wear nowadays can melt pretty easily."

Bonfires / Fire pits
When it comes to starting fires, Bentley says, it's important to follow the rules for the municipality in which you reside.

"There are certain places where you can't have open fires. Here in Vaughan, you need to have a permit or use certain chimneys," he said.

Like fireworks, sitting around a cozy outdoor fire requires certain precautions. First and foremost, it's important to know how to properly build one.

Emily Kinnon, a camping coordinator at Parks Canada, offers two ways to go about creating a campfire:

The log cabin method

Step 1: Place two larger pieces of wood parallel to each other on the ground.

Step 2: Stack two pieces of wood of a similar size on top of the first two, perpendicularly.

Step 3: Continue to stack the wood in this manner, until there are six to eight pieces used, depending how big the space is. You will have then a created a square, or rectangular-shaped structure.

Step 4: In the middle of the structure, add your kindling, or smaller pieces of wood. If you cannot find smaller pieces, you can chop one of your logs into multiple pieces, Kinnon says.

Step 5: Under the kindling, you then add tinder, which is a highly flammable material and the element of the fire that is initially lit.

"Tinder can be anything from scrunched up newspaper to dryer lint, which actually is an amazing flammable substance most people have at home," Kinnon said. "You can also use things like dry leaves - there’s lots available to you."

Kinnon says the log cabin is her method of choice as it is typically very stable.

The teepee method

Step 1: Begin by placing your tinder on the ground.

Step 2: Using your kindling, build a cone, or teepee shape around the tinder.

Step 3: Build a larger cone shape on top of the kindling, using the larger pieces of wood.

"The thing to remember whichever way you build your fire is that you need to make sure you have built it in an appropriate location," Kinnon added. "Most camp sites will have a designated fire pit at every location and it’s really important that you keep your fire in that because that has been chosen for a reason."

Kinnon says there are also a few safety tips to keep in mind:

Pay attention to your surroundings

Beware of hanging branches, as well as people or items in close proximity to the fire.

Before the fire is even lit, ensure there is a precautionary bucket of water nearby

"Should the fire spread in any way, or become too strong, or you need to leave, then you need to be able to put it out immediately," she said.

Don't step away from the fire

Leaving a fire unattended, even for a few minutes, can lead to all sorts of fire accidents, including wildfires.

Kinnon says when you are ready to extinguish a fire, spread the embers with a stick, then douse the entire blaze with copious amounts of water.

"It will smoke quite a lot and you want to essentially keep putting water on it until it has stopped - certainly until you can no longer see flames, but also until you can’t see much smoke," she added.

And for those putting out a fire at the end of the night who want to ensure the area isn't soggy the next morning, Kinnon has a solution: push the embers to a corner of the fire pit with your stick and only pour water on that particular area. That way, the majority of the fire pit remains dry.