United States Fire Department praises Brampton fire safety video

BRAMPTON, ON: An unexpected and pleasant surprise package arrived at the Fire/Life Safety Education Centre in Brampton the other day.
Fire Safety Education Officers opened a parcel containing a plaque from De Pere Fire Rescue in appreciation of the Fire Safety Education Video that Brampton Fire and Emergency Services (BFES) produced and put on YouTube. The Fire Department in De Pere, a small town in Wisconsin, plans to use it for fire prevention education in their community.
Dan Hermans, a De Pere Firefighter with Public Education responsibilities, was impressed with the video. “It has done a great job at sending the message out to the kids through a relevant and quality video,” he said in an email. “Keep up the good work!”
The video is aimed at children, and features two school-aged children. With the help of some animated characters, they learn important fire safety and prevention lessons about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, escape plans, what to do if there is fire and the proper use of 911.
The video has gained more interest south of the border, as Brampton Fire personnel were recently approached by a representative from Garland, Texas, a large city that is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, about using it in their education programs.
Since it was posted on YouTube in June 2013, the Fire Safety Education Video has garnered more than 77,000 views from all over the world.
“Fire safety and prevention is so important,” says Fire Chief Michael Clark. “Public education efforts – like this great video – end up saving lives and property. And it’s very rewarding that we’re also having an international impact.”
BFES public education efforts continue. Recognizing that across the nation cooking-related ignition sources are a significant contributor to fires, BFES recently developed and released another safety video focused on safe cooking. This video delivers important lessons about cooking safely, delivered in part through the first-hand experience of a woman who was badly burned in a kitchen fire. Two of the key takeaways include staying alert and aware of what you’re doing when you are cooking, and not leaving your cooking unattended.
Please visit Brampton Fire and Emergency Services’ YouTube channel to see the Fire Safety Education Video and the Safe Cooking Video.
Accompanying photo cutline: Personnel from Brampton’s Fire/Life Safety Education division with the plaque from De Pere, Wisconsin. Left to right: Tina Hickey, Assistant Division Chief; Andrew VonHolt, Division Chief; Michelle John, Fire/Life Safety Education Officer.
About Brampton: The ninth-largest city in Canada, Brampton celebrates a diverse population that represents people from 209 distinct ethnic backgrounds who speak 89 different languages. Brampton residents and visitors have access to state-of-the-art recreation facilities and one of the fastest-growing transit systems in Canada. Opened in 2007, Brampton Civic Hospital is part of the William Osler Health System, which is one of the largest community hospitals in Canada. For more information, visit www.brampton.ca or follow @CityBrampton on Twitter.