PNEFD Prevention Activities

Fire prevention program aimed at saving life and property.

The Petrolia and North Enniskillen Fire Department (PNEFD) offers the community a wide range of fire and life safety activities. All volunteer firefighters participate in the delivery of this program. The basis of the program is a section of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act that describes a minimal acceptable fire and life safety education model. The PNEFD exceeds the basic model in many ways.

The five key components of the program include:

A smoke alarm program
Fire safety education material distribution
Fire inspections
Simplified risk management
Specific targeted activities

Smoke Alarm Program

Most fire deaths in the home occur at night and involve the misuse of smoking materials or cooking equipment. The installation and maintenance of smoke alarms in dwellings has proven to be effective in alerting occupants in the early stages of fire. Ontario statistics show that a working smoke alarm can greatly increase the chances of surviving a fire.

The PNEFD Alarmed for Life program provides:

• smoke alarm and home escape planning information to residents
• promoting regular testing and maintenance of smoke alarms in all dwellings
• providing or replacing smoke alarms and/or batteries
• encouraging residents to maintain their smoke alarms and replace the batteries and alarms as required

(On farms in the rural area, a farm safety tube program is added to the regular home visit.)

Approximately 80 per cent of the homes have at least one working smoke detector. However, it has been discovered that homes with the greatest fire risk are often the homes that do not have detectors.

In addition, escape planning has been discussed by approximately 70 per cent of Petrolia area residents, but less than half have ever practiced their plan.

Fire safety education material distribution

The PNEFD has a large inventory of printed materials, videos, lesson guides, etc. that are made available free of charge to residents and organizations in the community. The school system is one of the largest users of this safety material.

Each year in October during Fire Prevention Week, the PNEFD focuses on one of Petrolia’s three elementary schools and conducts a wide range of activities in addition to distributing fire safety material to the students.

Fire inspection

In addition to the home smoke alarm visits, specially trained members of the PNEFD conduct inspections of community buildings including: schools, churches, day care facilities, businesses, licensed establishments, the Bluewater Health CEE site, nursing homes, special care facilities, industries, apartments and multiple family dwellings, and other buildings upon request.

Firefighters typically complete 100 to 150 inspections annually to ensure compliance with the fire code and general safety practices. In a few cases, legal action is taken to ensure compliance. Commonly found items requiring corrective action include:

Burnt-out exit lights
Non-operational emergency lights
Extinguishers that have not had annual inspections completed
Other necessary inspections not completed, e.g. fume hoods, etc.
Exits blocked or not correctly indicated
Combustibles stored incorrectly

Simplified risk assessment

The development of a risk assessment provides direction for PNEFD fire prevention activities by focusing attention on the most vulnerable groups or individuals in the community.

Specific targeted activities

Specific programs and/or activities have been developed or incorporated into the PNEFD prevention program based upon our community profile (Simplified Risk Assessment).

Targeted Activities

The following fire prevention/inspection activities are available from the department:

Smoke alarm home inspection program
Fire Safety education material distribution
Fire Inspections (businesses, industry etc.)

Fire Prevention Week Activities
Fire Safety House
Static Fire Safety Display
Learn Not to Burn Program
Babysitting Courses
Extinguisher training
Risk Watch Program
The Arson Prevention Program for Children
Older and Wiser Program
Fire Hall Tours
Speaking Appearances
Commercial Fire Code Inspections

Contact our Fire Prevention Division at "Fire Prevention Request"