Chatham-Kent Fire and Emergency Services are launching a new program, targeting fire safety in apartment buildings.
Public Educator for CK Fire Whitney Burk says they will be educating tenants and landlords on proper evacuating procedures, as well as shelter-in-place procedures.
"Sheltering-in-place is sort of a newer phenomenon, in terms of apartment building safety," says Burk, adding depending on the situation it may be safer to stay in place.
"People with mobility issues, someone who may get stuck in a stairwell and it could become filled with smoke, their options may be safer to shelter-in-place," says Burk.
For now, Burk says the focus of the program is for apartment buildings in Chatham and Wallaceburg that are over three stories tall.
She says the purpose behind this new initiative is to prepare tenants in case there's an emergency in their building. Adding the number of apartment fire deaths in Ontario has been growing.
"We've been very fortunate that we haven't had anything like that in our community, but we want to be preventative," says Burk.
Union gas is the official sponsor of the initiative and will be giving CK Fire Services a $2,000 donation for the program.
The launch of "My Part -- Apartment Fire and Emergency Planning" will be at 10am on September 28, at the fire station on 5 Second St.
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