I can’t count the number of stories I’ve seen this year in the Greater Toronto Area where a renegade appliance caused a fire in someone’s home. In an apartment complex, such fires can cause extensive damage to neighboring units.

Preparing for fire risks is a challenge. Time and resources are often in short supply, and sometimes it seems like everything is a potential danger. But, a little education and preparation are all it takes to help tenants stay safe and protect your property.

Here is some information about fire safety concerns which you can apply to your responsibilities as needed and also share with your tenants.

Hoarding is a threat to fire safety in Greater Toronto Area Properties.

Hoarding is not a new phenomenon. However, it has become better known in recent years due to the popularity of reality tv shows about hoarding and its recent inclusion in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of physiological disorders. Before 2013, hoarding symptoms had been lumped in with obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, or anxiety disorder. Hoarding symptoms have also been associated with depression, post-traumatic stress, and dementia. It is more common among the elderly, but studies have shown hoarding impacts people across ages, ethnicities, and socio-economic lines. An estimated three to five percent of the population suffers from hoarding disorder (Tompkins, 2011).

The New Year is a time to get a fresh start and do things better than we did last year. It’s a time to tackle some of the items on our to-do lists that have gone neglected. This brief down time offers us a chance to start the year off sprinting, if we use it wisely.

Risk and Responsibility:

A disproportionate amount of fire victims are elderly or disabled. The onus is on all of us to consider a range of situations and abilities when planning for fire safety and to protect those who are more vulnerable. In some situations, particularly if you own or manage a property or business, that extends to meeting requirements under the law. Some common situations to plan for include accommodating occupants with hearing, vision, cognitive and mobility differences. Go beyond the obvious. Properly planning fire safety for all means asking more questions ahead of time.

Examples of Considerations:

• Are your fire extinguishers within easy reach of someone with below average height, or someone in a wheelchair?

• If an occupant had a broken leg or other temporary mobility impairment, how would that impact their ability to exit safely?

• Are there less visible scenarios that need to be accounted for, such as heart conditions, autism, PTSD, arthritis, asthma or Alzheimer's?

Nothing is more dangerous than falsely believing you are protected in the event of fire. It’s a challenge for many to adopt adequate fire safety measures in the first place, so when someone does so in good faith  is disturbing indeed. We’ve previously addressed the threat of recalled fire safety devices and phony fire safety scams. Now we are tackling counterfeit fire safety devices. 

Here’s a round-up of some of the most stupid ways to start fires. Each one of these is more unbelievable than the one before.

1. Fire Pump Spider Guy

A few weeks ago, a man in Detroit, Michigan lit a gas pump on fire with his lighter after seeing a spider. A quick-thinking gas station clerk shut off the pump, averting an explosion. The arachnophobe eventually doused the flames with an extinguisher. We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried. Watch the video to see the whole thing go down. (Via TheStar.com)

September is Campus Fire Safety Month, which we've already blogged about here. Before the month ends, we're doing one more post devoted to fire safety for college students living on or off-campus.

September is Campus Fire Safety Month. During the month of September, we can expect to see the most useful and informative resources for campus fire safety published and shared on social media.

To advance the cause of fire safety on campus, we're sharing five of the most popular campus fire safety blog posts, as measured by social sharing. Not surprisingly, the list is dominated by resources from The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the most widely-recognized authority on fire safety in North America.

One of the consequences of information overload is that we tend to miss mission-critical items. Emails flood our inboxes, and its nearly impossible to stay on top of what immediately impacts us. Even those who go out of their way to be prepared for fire safety could miss a potential risk — recent fire safety recalls include basic fire prevention items such as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers made by respected brands. Think you're covered? You may need to think again.

Don't let fire safety suffer because you didn't see an important recall. Check your fire safety devices to confirm they are not subject to any of these recent recalls.

Here are four major recent recalls for fire safety devices that you should know about:

How much does a fire safety violation actually cost you?

We know that fines are trending up in frequency and amounts, as part of a plan to discourage fire code violations in Ontario. But it can seem ambiguous unless you are the one facing the violation. For perspective, we’ve tracked recent fines involving property owners, businesses and industrial settings in Ontario.