The Green Zone: Mark Kilam named new Edmonton Elks head coach
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The Elks' new head coach was interviewed by The Green Zone's Jamie and Locker.
People living in or visiting a large part of east-central Saskatchewan aren’t allowed to spark up a campfire.
The province issued a fire ban Sunday because of dry conditions and wildfires around Hudson Bay. Air quality advisories have also been issued for as far away as Saskatoon.
But will those living in Regina still be allowed to have a fire? Fire Chief Layne Jackson thinks so.
“Here in the city, we monitor the conditions routinely …,” he said Monday. “We’re somewhat fortunate … The streets (and) parking lots, we have a lot of separation with streets paved (with) concrete that provide some separation. We also have a lot of irrigated land.”
Because of that, his thoughts are pretty clear: “Right now, we’ve been monitoring that situation. We’re not looking at a fire ban.”
That being said, things can change. His team is always keeping an eye on the level of moisture in Regina.
“We are watching, especially on the fringes and the suburban side of the city,” he said. “We always are checking those conditions of the vegetation just in the height of it.”
Even without a fire ban in effect, there are still limitations on fires in the city.
For one, they must be in a controlled firepit. Among the regulations are ones that say residents can’t burn anything between 1 a.m. and noon, and they can’t have a fire when it’s windy.
Jackson has been a firefighter for well over 20 years. For some, it seems unusual to see a ban in October, but Jackson said it’s definitely not the first time.
“We do see it from time to time throughout the years where there is a large ban across the province. (In) the rural areas especially, that vegetation can dry out quite quickly,” he explained.
Fire Prevention Week
It’s Fire Prevention Week, and the theme this year is “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety.”
As part of the theme, a new, made-in-Saskatchewan activity book is being distributed to students from Kindergarten to Grade 5.
“The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and the Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs collaborated to create the Fire Safety Activity Book,” Christine Tell, Saskatchewan’s minister for Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, said in a media release.
“This is the first educational resource of its kind to be developed and distributed entirely in Saskatchewan in many years.”
The week’s theme is meant to remind people of the sounds that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms make.
“When an alarm makes a beeping or a chirping sound, it is important to know what action to take,” Jackson said in the release. “Our communities are safer, and the death rate decreases, when residents have the tools and knowledge to respond to alarms in their home.”
On Friday, residents are urged to join Regina Fire and Protective Services on a city-wide initiative to test the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
This year’s campaign also suggests people who are deaf or hard of hearing should install devices that include strobe lights to alert them when the alarm sounds.
The Fire Safety Activity Book and other fire prevention resources are available here.