City Government

Have a Holly, Jolly and Safe Holiday Season

December 15, 2011

Don’t spoil your holidays by risking your life or the lives of your loved ones with a preventable house fire. Follow the five holiday safety tips below to help protect life, property and the environment in Edmonton, and enter the Holiday Fire Safety Contest to win fantastic prizes.

The grand prize includes a family pack of day passes to some of the City of Edmonton’s premiere attractions and a fire safety package. There will also be daily draws for family and individual day passes to City attractions.

Holiday safety tips:

Space heaters
Leave one metre of space around space heaters. Don’t let kids or pets play near them. NEVER use an extension cord for a space heater. Never leave a space heater unattended.
Extension cords
Only use an approved extension cord when putting up lights. Never use frayed extension cords or run one under rugs, carpets, or mats.
Candles
Keep candles in non-combustible holders, away from curtains and other combustibles like wrapping paper. NEVER leave candles unattended, or in areas where children or pets are playing. Remember, when you GO OUT, BLOW OUT.
Cooking
Cooking is one of the top causes of fires and fire injuries in the home. Never leave cooking unattended and supervise children when they are in the kitchen. Keep your cooking area free of combustibles like dishcloths or oven mitts.
Smoking
2011 was a record year for fires caused by cigarettes. If you smoke, always use a non-combustible (glass, metal or concrete) ashtray.

How do I enter the contest?

The contest takes place between December 15 and December 23.

The safety tips will be shared on Edmonton.ca, Facebook, Twitter, local media and in the December 21 edition of the Edmonton Examiner. When you see or hear a Christmas fire safety tip, send an email to firecontest@edmonton.ca which includes the tip, your phone number and where you saw or heard the information.

Twitter or Facebook users can also enter the contest by re-tweeting, sharing or liking one of the safety tips they see on these platforms during the contest.

Contestants can enter once a day.

A grand prize winner will be selected in a draw in early January. There will be daily draws for prizes between December 15 and December 23.

Limit of one daily prize per entrant, but all entrants are eligible for the grand prize draw.

Grand prize

One family day-pass to: Edmonton Valley Zoo, Fort Edmonton Park, Muttart Conservatory, John Janzen Nature Centre.
A fire safety package personally delivered by Edmonton Fire Rescue firefighters, fire prevention officers and Sparky the Fire Dog. This package includes:
- two fire extinguishers
- three smoke alarms
- one carbon monoxide detector
- activity books and fire helmets for children
- a tour of a fire truck

Daily prizes include

Family and individual day passes to City attractions.

Protecting your personal information and contest information

Personal information submitted by people entering this contest is collected under section 33(c) of the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act and will be used by Edmonton Fire Rescue to notify entrants if they have won a prize. Personal information of contest winners may also be used for promotional purposes. If you have any questions about the collection or use of personal information by Edmonton Fire Rescue contest organizers, please contact the Public Information Officer for Fire Rescue Services at 780-496-3600.

Contestants must reside in Edmonton.

The winning contestant will be asked to participate in promotional activities. As a result, photos and digital images of the winning contestant may be used in local news media, on www.edmonton.ca and in official City of Edmonton publications.

For more information:

Tim Wilson

Edmonton Fire Rescue Services

Title	Public Information Officer
Telephone	780-496-3600 780-886-3335