By Stephen Vance, Editor
Over the last decade I have often heard from anti-Meaford Hall folks that the building should have been torn down. The more dramatic type of anti-Meaford Hall folks have gone so far as to suggest that the building should be burned to the ground.
So there must have been a momentary rush of excitement followed by a dramatic sigh after a close call at Meaford Hall last week that could have given those folks their wish.
Fortunately – for those of us who don’t hate the hall – the systems we have in place all worked perfectly. Staff cleared the building, the fire department attended and found that a light bulb had come in contact with a curtain causing it to smoulder, and had it not been caught so quickly, could have resulted in a fire.
I remember a similar close call a few years ago at Memorial Park’s Kin Hall. The fire department had been called to Kin Hall after a dog walker had noticed the sound of smoke detector alarms. When firefighters arrived on the scene, they found a chair on fire on the second floor of the structure where a meeting and banquet facility is housed. The chair had been placed too close to a gas fireplace, and had begun to smoulder before ultimately catching fire. Fortunately firefighters arrived before the fire had spread beyond the chair.
Fires are serious business. Fires not only damage property, they can damage people, badly.
After the close call at Meaford Hall, Meaford’s fire department quickly issued a press release that included a list of household safety precautions that residents can undertake to try to reduce the chances of a fire in their homes.
This type of advice is worth repeating over and over.
Something as simple as a curtain or some other combustible material resting on a light bulb could destroy your home, and put your family members and pets at risk. Light bulbs in closets and basement areas should be first on your home inspection list as those hidden-away places are the easiest to leave a light turned on without it being noticed.
The fire department recommends ensuring at least 12 inches of space between curtains and other combustible materials. Meaford residents would be wise to take some time this weekend to do a quick inspection of their homes, their closets, their garages, and their out-buildings to ensure that light bulbs are free of combustible materials, and with August quickly heading toward September, while doing the home inspection also check baseboard heaters and other sources of heat to ensure that there are no curtains, furniture, or toys left by the little ones that could result in a fire.
Fires and floods are two of my biggest fears, and I suspect that I’m not alone. For the small amount of time it takes to periodically inspect our living and work spaces for potential fire hazards, it is time well spent.
Perhaps the municipality could consider including a fire prevention home inspection checklist with the property tax bills. What better time to inspect your home for fire hazards than when you’ve received the bill to pay your property taxes? Even better, the fire department could use a small portion of its budget to have the inspection list printed on a fridge magnet and distributed to Meaford homes. In this day and age, I think it is no secret that if you make tasks as simple and effortless as possible, you might actually get people to participate.
And a special thank you for the quick response and speedy communication with the public by our fire department. It is nice to know that should a fire occur, help is not far away.
