Volunteers with the Minaki Volunteer Fire Service are reminding the public to always practice fire safety this summer season.
But they say with the extreme flooding the region has seen this spring and summer, residents need to take extra precautions to protect their homes and cottages.
“We’ve had a lot of incidents of pooling water or standing water because of the high water levels,” explains Minaki Fire Chief Robert Creedon.
“If you have anything where the electrical is getting into water, you should be making sure that those are safe before turning them on. And make sure that your fuses and breakers are working properly in case you do run into incidents like that. It is a risk that you should be aware of.”
Residents are asked to check their exterior electrical and lighting for any water damage, and to ensure their breakers or fuses are working within their electrical panels.
Creedon says the highest risks over the summer season are cottage fires, smoking fires and cooking fires.
“Right now, we’re getting lots of rain and some nice weather. It’s a good time to do some of these things before it gets dry and hot and you do get an incident,” adds Creedon.
“The key things that you need to look at include cutting back brush, checking things out, and making sure your fire extinguisher and plans are up to date.”
Minaki Fire is also reminding the public that rural communities have a daytime fire ban in effect until November, and is asking residents, visitors and guests to slow down in the area with Minaki’s road resurfacing work taking place.