When renovating your home, make sure fire safety is part of the plan

Whether you do it yourself or hire a contractor, follow these tips when making home renovations, writes Andrew Zvanitajs

Yorkregion.com
June 6, 2023
Andrew Zvanitajs

Spring and summer are popular times to make home improvements. It can be exciting to pick new paint colours or add features to make your outdoor space more enjoyable, but remember to make fire safety part of the plan.

Whether you’re planning a DIY project or hiring a contractor, be sure to follow these tips when undertaking home renovations.

NEVER REMOVE A SMOKE OR CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) ALARM

If you must take down an alarm to accommodate the renovation, move it to another location to ensure you always have a working smoke alarm on every level of your home and outside all sleeping areas -- which is required by law.

You must also have a working CO alarm outside all sleeping areas if there is a fuel-burning appliance or fireplace inside your home. For the best protection, interconnect all your alarms so that when one alarm sounds, they all do.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when installing, testing and maintaining your alarms.

DO NOT BLOCK DOORS OR WINDOWS

Keep escape routes clear of debris, building supplies and furniture so exits are not blocked in case of an emergency. Be sure to update your home escape plan if the layout of your home changes.

If members of your household will be sleeping in different locations during or after the renovations, practise your escape plan often so everyone knows what to do when the smoke or CO alarm sounds.

SAFELY STORE SUPPLIES AND PROPERLY DISPOSE OF MATERIALS

Do not store or use paints and solvents near heat-generating equipment such as furnaces, water heaters or vehicles. Vapour from these products can readily ignite and cause a serious fire.

Remove waste, packing materials and wood shavings daily. Boxes, yard waste and rags are sources of fuel for a fire. They can ignite easily and increase the severity and spread of a fire.

If you don’t know how to dispose of something, use the City of Vaughan’s What Goes Where online tool at vaughan.ca/waste.

HIRE A CONTRACTOR LICENSED BY THE CITY OF VAUGHAN

All renovators, fence installers, pavers, landscapers, pool installers and snowplow contractors must be licensed by the city. As outlined in the city’s licensing bylaw 122-2022, these contractors are required to take various measures to protect consumers, employees and the community.

Through licensing, the city can better ensure businesses comply with all city bylaws intended to ensure public health and safety, consumer protection and nuisance control.

To check if a contractor is licensed by the city, you can contact Bylaw and Compliance, Licensing and Permit Services at 905-832-2281 or bylaw@vaughan.ca.

Keep your home renovation dreams on track by educating yourself and supervising any contractors so you can avoid potential fire hazards. To learn more about fire safety, visit vaughan.ca/fire.

Andrew Zvanitajs is the fire chief of the Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service.