GBA wants you to be fire safe inside and outside of your cottage. Last year in Ontario was a below average year for wildfires, but fire related deaths in Ontario were the highest they’ve been in 20 years and the stats have been trending upward. Please make sure your cottage is equipped with working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers and that you have an escape plan in the event of emergencies. Here are some resources and tips to help keep you and your family safe.Weekly Fire Danger Rating Report
To provide you with the most up-to-date overview, this summer GBA will collect the relevant information and issue a Fire Danger Rating Report on Thursdays. This report is an amalgamation of the current information with links to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and your local municipalities. The MNRF map gives an overview of the conditions around Georgian Bay, and the local municipalities will have details on their ratings and what activities are allowable under the conditions. Reducing demands on emergency services is always important, so please be careful and observe all bans. See the latest Fire Danger Ratings Report here.
Fire Prevention Tips
A few summers ago the Key River fire brought fire risk into sharp focus for GBA members. GBA put together a great source article, Hot Tips on Responding to Fires, on many aspects of fire safety in the Summer 2019 edition of Update. Fireproof Your Life: the Basics is a helpful post packed with information on how to keep your cottage and your family safe.
In addition, GBA has created printable fire prevention tips below to prevent fires both inside and outside of the cottage:
FireSmart
Preparing for the threat of wildfire is a shared responsibility. From homeowners, to industry, to government, we all have the responsibility to lessen the effects of wildfires. Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) have developed FireSmart, a program about living with and managing for wildfire. FireSmart educates us on preventative measures to reduce the threats of wildfire.
FireSmart Materials:
- The Homeowner’s FireSmart Manual
- FireSmart Begins at Home is an informative video to help mitigate your property’s risk of wildfire damage
- Home Ignition Zone is a FireSmart video with tips on protecting your property from wildfire
- FireSmart Wildfire Evacuation Checklist contains important tips in the event you need to evacuate
- Firesmart slide show presentation for the Municipality of Killarney
Additional Video Resources:
- Ember Aware for Cottages and Cabins produced for the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact
- Your Home Can Survive A Wildfire produced by the National Fire Protection Association
- Wildfire! Preventing Home Ignitions produced for Firewise Communities
Ministry of Natural Resources Community Outreach
The MNRF, as part of their community outreach, is happy to make presentations to groups like our associations and their neighbours to educate the community about fire. If your group is interested in having them address your AGM or even a stand-alone session, please contact them to arrange a presentation. They can tailor the presentation to meet your time constraints, but suggest that allocating an hour or so would be a good place to start given the importance of the subject, the volume of information available, and the likelihood that there will be many questions.
Contact:
Shane McCool
Fire Advisor, Northeast Region
705-507-0509
shayne.mccool@ontario.ca
and
Gabrielle Ayers
Outreach Advisor, Northeast Region
705-561-9943
gabrielle.ayers@ontario.ca
Please note that if you have specific questions it would be helpful to notify the team in advance. Also note that there is a risk that the presentation may have to be postponed or cancelled if there are active forest fires and therefore more immediate demands for the MNRF personnel.
