Public Information

This page has public outreach messages on fire safety from BC-IAAI, based on what fire investigators see in numerous fire scenes. Note that this page is a work in progress; contact your local fire department for up-to-date information on fire prevention relevant to your municipality.

Home Fire Safety for Individuals

  • Make sure you have working smoke alarms. Check the alarms once a month, and consider installing a battery-operated smoke alarm in every bedroom if you don’t have one already. NEVER disable a smoke alarm.

    NFPA reports that roughly 3 out of 5 fire deaths happen in homes without smoke alarms or where the smoke alarm failed to operate.

  • Keep a fire extinguisher in an accessible location, and know how to use it.

  • Make a fire safety plan for your home, and ensure children and other vulnerable members know what to do and where to exit in case of a fire.

  • Use extreme caution around live flames such as candles. Do not leave candles unattended, and keep them away from pets and children who might knock them over.

  • Do not store items on cooktops. In case a range is accidentally turned on, it can cause a fire.

  • Never dispose cigarettes in planters or garbage bins. Potting soil consists of of peat moss and other organic material which can smoulder undetected for hours before starting to flame. The same is true for paper and other material in garbage which may come in contact with cigarette butts. Dispose cigarette butts in containers filled with water.

  • Do not leave charging batteries unattended. Do not use damaged batteries. Although this applies to all batteries, this can be particularly relevant to power tools and e-mobility devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters.

  • Be mindful of self-heating reactions while painting/staining. Rags and other items contaminated with materials susceptible to self-heating (e.g. - stains with linseed oil) can build up enough heat from exothermic reactions and catch on fire if left crumpled up or in garbage cans. Such fires can be caused hours after the staining work is done and rags left. Read the instructions from the manufacturer on disposing such items, which can include disposing them in sealed cans filled with water.

Wildfire Season

Explore the excellent resources at FireSmart BC for tips for wildfire season and how to protect your property.

Resources for Fire Departments and Individuals

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has safety tip sheets on topics ranging from fireworks to Christmas trees and cars. View their Safety Tip Sheets here.

The sheets can be customized to be posted by municipal fire departments.

Explore 3D Scans of Burn Cells

As part of fire investigator training, BC-IAAI sets up ‘burn cells’, which are special cubicles constructed as household rooms (normally living rooms, bedrooms, or kitchens) and set with burn scenarios experienced fire investigators have come across. A fire is set according to the scenario, and later fire investigation trainees are tasked with finding where the fire originated and what caused it. This helps them recognize fire patterns and potential sources of ignition.

Look at 3D scans of the same burn cell below, taken before and after the fire. As a fire investigator, can you spot the patterns leading you to the area of fire origin? Have a look before you continue reading.

This scenario was a battery charger fire. You can spot the blue charger close to the door, which gets covered by falling drywall from the ceiling after the fire. However, consumption of combustible material and a clean burn pattern will help fire investigators close in on the area of origin.

Always charge your batteries according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and do not charge damaged batteries.

To explore scans:

  1. Press the Play icon in the centre of the photo,

  2. And then the full screen icon on the bottom right of the picture.

  3. Explore the burn cell with your mouse/touchscreen! Press Escape to go out of the view.