The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office and the city’s volunteer Fire Corps will kick off its Project Home Safe fire and life safety campaign in Vancouver starting this July.
Project Home Safe focuses on preventing the leading causes of residential fires in Vancouver, including unattended cooking, improper disposal of smoking materials, and unattended candles.
“The majority of our fires resulting in injury and life loss in Vancouver are from residential, not commercial, properties,” said Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli. “To move the needle on preventing home fires, we focus our efforts on educating residents on easy behavior changes to make in the home.”
The Fire Marshal’s Office anticipates completing visits to approximately 1,700 homes through early fall. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and in the interest of keeping the community healthy, staff and volunteers will wear personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves, and observe physical distancing when making home visits.
The program has also expanded its campaign toolbox by producing three eye-catching and memorable public service announcements to help spread the word about home fire prevention on social media and television:
Ignite Awareness, Extinguish Risk
Be Smart with Your Butts h
Don’t Light Your Meow Meow on Fire
Funding for this project comes from a $213,000 Federal Emergency Management Act (FEMA) Fire Prevention Grant. These grants support projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters against fire and related hazards. The primary goal of the federal program is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations.
