Host and producer Chantal Lacroix, who lost her home to a fire a year and a half ago, invited Quebecers on Sunday to take part in a fire drill, hoping to save lives in the event of disaster.
Mme Lacroix made the call as spokesperson for Fire Prevention Week, which began on Sunday.
“This awareness week, it is for that. Today, take the opportunity to do a fire drill, at the limit with the members of your family. It becomes something, an activity that can be fun, and it can save lives so much because in moments of panic, we don’t know how we react, ”explained Chantal Lacroix in an interview with LCN.
The main interested party knows what she is talking about, because she saw a fire destroy her house.
“It’s a trivial accident. My girlfriend came to my house and, before leaving, she decided to go and smoke one last cigarette on the balcony of the house, and she stubbed out her cigarette in the flower bed […]. She left at 8 p.m. and it was only the next day at 5:30 a.m. that the fire broke out,” said the host.
She was alerted by her smoke detector and she was able to evacuate the house with her daughter. Both met at a meeting point that they had already designated beforehand, precisely during an evacuation exercise.
Preparing an evacuation plan and testing it during a drill is a good way to ensure that no one panics in the event of a real disaster, underlined the spokesperson.
“From the moment the smoke detector goes off, you have three minutes to evacuate the house,” she said.
In addition to this exercise, Quebecers are invited to check the operation and the batteries of their smoke detector.
“For us, in any case, we thank life for having had a smoke detector. This is what made us safe and sound today,” said Chantal Lacroix.