Toronto Fire Services kicks off Safety Awareness Week

TORONTO, June 5, 2016 /CNW/ - Toronto Fire Services kicked off the 10^th annual Safety Awareness Week campaign today with a launch event in the Regent Park community. In addition to the fire and life safety focus, the event provided a fun, interactive experience for people of all ages.

Today's activities included:   

• Toronto Raptors fan zone and dance pak
• junior firefighter challenge
• children's fire truck bouncer
• face painting and airbrush tattoos
• Sparky the fire safety dog
• fire truck display (pumper and aerial)
• barbecue courtesy of Enbridge

Throughout this week to June 9, Toronto Fire Services inspectors and public educators will focus on highrise fire safety with a campaign that concentrates on fire safety for seniors and the importance of fire doors.

Deputy Fire Chief Jim Jessop reminds residents about the importance of proper maintenance of suite and stairway fire doors: "Do not prop doors open with wedges, door stoppers or floor mats. Disabling a door in a fire separation eliminates a barrier to the spread of fire and puts residents at risk – and is against the law."

The campaign will involve fire department staff conducting door-to-door education in 63 Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) buildings (over 17,000 apartment units) across the city and delivering 15 highrise fire and life safety presentations for TCHC residents. In addition, Fire Services is facilitating fire safety seminars for about 500 TCHC supervisory staff at the Toronto Fire and EMS Training Centre. The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal and Emergency Management will join Toronto Fire services as co-presenters.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

SOURCE City of Toronto

Media contacts: Captain Bob Wong, Toronto Fire Services, 416-575-8317, [email protected]; Tim Milosevic, Toronto Fire Services, 647-518-9761, [email protected]