October 8th to 14th is Fire Prevention Week in the province and the Airdrie Fire Department are taking the opportunity to launch their annual Home Safety Program this week.  

Firefighters will be going door to door in certain areas of the community starting tomorrow (October 10) to check and install smoke alarms and batteries, where needed.

The fire crews will be in the Edgewater area this year.  More specifically they'll be on Elizabeth Way, Empress Place and Edendale Crescent where residents will see firefighters and fire trucks in their community until the end of October.

Crews will take the time to review the home safety checklists with the residents.  That includes alarms, escape plans, home, basement and garage safety.

The theme for Fire Prevention Week in Alberta is "Every second counts: Plan two ways out."  That theme urges all Albertans to think carefully about having another way out of their home and rooms in their home.

Families should draw a map of your home, including all doors and windows and then find two ways out of every room, making sure that doors and windows are not blocked.

You need to then choose an outside meeting place, push the test button to sound the smoke alarm, practice your fire drill with everyone in the home and get outside to your meeting place.

In 2016 there were 4,324 fires in Alberta which resulted in 166 injuries and 29 deaths.  Cooking fires accounted for 68 percent of home fires from 2007 to 2016.  

Fire Prevention Week this year also marks the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.  

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