While a door is the most obvious route out of a room, home or apartment, this year's theme for Fire Prevention Week, which runs October 8th to the 14th, tells us that "Every second counts, Plan two ways out" and urges Albertans to plan a second escape route in the event of a fire.

The Cochrane Fire Department (CFD), along with other fire departments in the province, is adopting that theme.  Lieutenant Jeff Avery says it's just common sense.

"You can't have just one way out.  You always have to have a second way out just in case something goes wrong in that first way, if it's a little bit blocked or who knows where the fire is in the house.  As long as you have a couple of entrances and exits that you can get out of and have a muster point outside.  That's what we're preaching this week."

Avery recommends sitting down as a family and planning your primary and alternate escape routes.  

"It's always better to do it as a group instead of just the parents planning and telling the kids what to do.  If the kids can be there during the process and ask questions and look at the map and just be part of it.  Or maybe they have a good suggestion of how they get out of their bedroom or where the second egress route is."

Then, Avery says, once you've got your plan in place, you need to practice it.  "I've always told families when they come to the fire hall that you need to practice your escape plan once every six months, just so it stays a little fresh.  It's only twice a year and it'll only take you maybe 30 seconds to evacuate the house and meet and then make a little family night out of it.  Maybe go for a movie afterwards."

The CFD is doing more than reminding people to have escape routes during Fire Prevention Week.  Avery says they're planning on visiting the east end of Cochrane this year.

"What we're going to do is go door to door and offer to test all the smoke alarms and if you have a CO (Carbon Monoxide) detector we'll test that for you too.  If we find you don't have a smoke alarm, 'cause I know there's a lot of older homes in the east end, we'll give you a free smoke alarm then make sure it's working and install it for you.  We'll also have some goodies for the kids, little fire helmets and colouring books and stuff like that."

Properly maintained smoke alarms provide reliable early notification to let your family escape and contact the fire department.  Statistics show that from 2012 to 2016 the smoke alarm did not activate due to power failure or no battery, dead batteries or disconnection from home wiring in 27 percent of fires where a smoke alarm was present.  

The home visits will take place in Cochrane's east end during the evenings, after dinner, from October 10th to the 13th. 

In 2016, 324 fires in Alberta resulted in 166 injuries and 29 deaths.  Cooking fires accounted for 68 percent of all home fires from 2007 to 2016.

This year Fire Prevention Week from October 8th to the 14th also marks the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871