The London Fire Department will spend the next week putting out fires before they start.
As part of Fire Prevention Week, which kicks off on Sunday, firefighters will be visiting area shopping malls, grocery stores, and schools dispensing safety tips to protect Londoners from fire.
"This year the theme for Fire Prevention Week is 'don't wait, check the date,'" says Wendy Cowdrey, chief fire prevention officer at the London Fire Department. "We are encouraging all residents of London to check their smoke alarms to make sure that they are no more than ten years old. They typically have a date on the back or on the side of them that indicates the date that they were manufactured."
Fire officials removed nearly 30 worn out and obsolete smoke alarms from London homes, some of which were 40-years-old.
"Our statistics show at least a third of the population does not have a working smoke alarm. They are not adequately protected in case of a fire," says Cowdrey.
Londoners are also being advised to change the batteries in their smoke alarms at least once a year and practice a safe way out of their homes in the event of a blaze. Home owners are required to have a smoke alarm on every level of their house and outside of sleeping areas.
Cowdrey says the greatest risk for fire inside the home comes when people get distracted while cooking.
"Unattended cooking is the number one cause of residential home fires and fire injuries," says Cowdrey. "We encouraging people to stay close by when you're cooking, make sure you have a lid large enough for your pot to put on it if it does catch fire, and do not attempt to take any pots that are on fire outside of the home."
Smoking is also among the top causes for residential fires, according to the fire department. A problem Linda Stobo, manager of the tobacco control team at the Middlesex London Health Unit believes could easily be corrected.
"One of the best things you can do is implement a smoke free policy in your home," says Stobo. "Not only will it protect members of your family from exposure to second-hand smoke, it reduces the risk of fires and sets a really positive example for children that you may have in your home."
Fire Prevention Week runs through October 15.