Fire Safety and Prevention: A Resource Guide for Child Welfare Professionals

The English and French copies of the guide are available from the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies website. 

Recently the OFM, the Office of the Chief Coroner, the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and a representative from a Children's Aid Society developed a resource titled Fire Safety and Prevention: A Resource Guide for Child Welfare Professionals. The guide will assist child welfare professionals to reduce the risk of fire in their clients’ homes.  

It was developed to:

• increase the knowledge and awareness of child welfare professionals about the risk factors associated with home fires;
• identify fire safety and prevention strategies that can be used by families; and
• provide a list of resources and options that are available to child welfare professionals and to the families and children they work with.

What this means to the fire service  

A representative from your local CAS may contact fire departments for:

• advice and assistance on educating families about fire safety and ensuring homes meet minimum smoke alarm requirements;
• educational materials to help raise awareness of fire safety in the home; and
• assistance training child welfare professionals in identifying fire safety issues in the home, such as:
  • the location, maintenance and testing of working smoke alarms;
  • home fire escape planning;
  • keeping fire starting materials out of sight and reach of children;
  • other fire prevention issues including: staying in the kitchen when cooking, blowing out candles when exiting a room, keeping candles out of reach of children, keeping exits in the home clear and not cluttered, ensuring electrical circuits are not overloaded, using extension cords as a temporary connection, ensuring items that can burn are at least one metre away from space heaters and recommending that smokers smoke outside.  

For further information, contact Denise Wallace, Program Specialist, OFM at 416-325-1191 or denise.wallace@ontario.ca.