Life Saving Tips

• Install smoke alarms in and outside all bedrooms and in all principal buildings
• Install the appropriate fire extinguishers in key areas
• Work with the local fire department to develop and practice a fire escape plan with family and employees and determine a meeting place
• Identify who may require special help - including the elderly or handicapped
• Make sure buildings are well-spaced
• Keep cistern and stock pond safely full and provide clear access to water source or pond
• Ensure that appropriate fire protection equipment is accessible

Checklist

• Keep fire department # posted on all telephones
• Ensure all electrical wiring is inspected and up to code
• Ensure all electrical equipment has a nationally recognized testing agency certification 
• Replace worn wiring and use only 15 amp fuses unless otherwise specified
• Remove wiring and lighting from wet areas 
• Install "No Smoking" signs in all buildings
• Inspect and maintain fire extinguishers regularly

Machinery / Equipment - Keep it clean, safe and inspected

• Before installing heating equipment check product certification and insurance requirements
• Make sure the pump is on a separate electrical circuit and located away from other buildings to safeguard the pressure of the water supply for fire fighting
• Refuel equipment and internal combustion engines outside, once cool and never while running
• Ensure that crop dryers are equipped with adequate controls enabling them to shut off blowers or dampers when temperatures become too high in the heat transfer chamber
• Never use "home-made" dryers

Life Saving Behaviours

• Designate safe smoking areas away from barns, crops, stores or flammable materials
• Before burning, check regulations with your local authority
• Burn rubbish in an incinerator equipped with a spark arrestor and NEVER in a high wind
• Keep a pail of water nearby
• Never carry out field burning
• Do not use fumigants near an open flame or electric equipment
• Clean up! Remove all trash from the property
• Repaint weathered surfaces and remove rotting wood and fencing

Safe Storage - Spontaneous ignition of crops causes fires.

•  Before Storing:
  
  • Provide proper ventilation 
  • Ensure crops - hay, alfafa, clover, soybean hays - are well-dried and properly cured 
  • Ensure wet grains are below the safe moisture content before storage 
  • Check regularly for spontaneous heating hazards, e.g. manure pile 
  • Repair leaking roofs and openings to protect stored crops against wetting 
    
    
•  During Storage:  
  • Inspect daily for signs of steaming, irritating odours, wet areas and "flues" in the hay for several weeks Have fire fighting equipment immediately accessible
  • Petroleum products should be stored above ground at least 12 metres (40 feet) from any other building, in a tank on non-combustible support. In all cases vent pipes not less than 3 centimetres (11/4") inside diameter capped with weatherproof hoods should be provided. 
  • Petroleum products should be dispensed from storage tanks by appropriate pumping equipment

IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IMMEDIATELY