I think I can safety assume that we all know that calling 911 will get us the police/paramedics/fire fighters in Canada. However, it is important to remember that  911 is not the only way we can get in contact with these emergency services. There are non-emergency numbers that may better suit our purposes when immediate help is not required. For British Columbia, here is where you can find the non-emergency numbers for cities in the province. Now, what are other useful numbers we can use? 211 can help you get in touch with community and social services. It appears that each province has t ..read more

Batteries. They are something all households have at least a handful of. How do you store them? If you are not careful, these batteries could burn down your entire house. Storage When it comes to new batteries, the packages say it all! The best practice is to keep them in their original package until you use them. Keep them in a dry and cool place.   Disposal Batteries may appear to be drained when our devices stop working. However, this may not be true. If your device is high-draining, then even though the batteries may not have enough power to power them, they may still have enough ..read more

Without pursuing further medical training, first aid attendants are still relatively limited when it comes to what we can do in the field. So have you ever wondered what it is that paramedics want to know when they arrive on scene? We will go over some of the things we learn in first aid classes in terms of what would be really helpful when relaying information to either 911 or paramedics.  The following is not meant to replace proper or formal training. Certified instructors are meant to help go through each section thoroughly and also to assess your practical skills. This is a continuat ..read more

Okay so I feel that many Canadians who have first aid training are limited to just Standard First Aid. It is a great start but there is so much more to learn! I have decided to start a new series to help increase awareness of what people can learn in both introductory and higher level first aid classes. The hope is that something may peak your interest enough to get you into the next available class near you! So when it comes to first aid, bandaging cuts and doing CPR are both images likely to come to mind. There are many things first aid attendants can help with between these two scenarios th ..read more

Our hands are one of our most important assets. It is important to protect them especially during emergencies. We use them to gather resources, remove barriers, and to navigate our world. In order to facilitate carrying out daily tasks safety, we should have three different types of gloves available. Having the proper gloves matter. But in an emergency, it may get to the point where having ANY glove would be better than nothing. Gloves are also one of those things where they will not be wasted once bought. They are often great tasks like moving or gardening, provide some level of warmth if nee ..read more

It would be a misconception to think that it is only our neighbours to the south that is currently battling forest fires. With the amount of media coverage they are getting, it may be easy to forget that Canada is also burning up as well. While people in communities who are potentially affected will no doubt be made more aware of the fires in the surrounding area, those not immediately affected may not know. I hear of people who had trips planned cancel their trips the day before departure because they just realized their destination was put on notice because of wildfires.   The wild ..read more

If you are currently residing on the West Coast of Canada, then you have probably heard authorities tell us to stay indoors and away from the smoke currently blanketing the Greater Vancouver area. But why? Is it really that bad? I want to draw your attention to a few ideas. First, check out this real-time air quality index and see how the air quality is relative to normal times. Then learn about how this index breaks down here. I recognize this resource does not appear to be Canadian but I like how it appears to be more informative than this official Canadian source on the same topic. If you a ..read more

When people go on vacations, the potential risk of having an emergency is likely the last thing on our minds. However, it is our responsibility to look after ourselves and our loved ones when we travel. As Canadians, this principle is likely much more obvious when we travel to other foreign countries that are a distance away from Canada. This mindset may not be the same when we look at our neighbouring country, the United States.  According to Statistics Canada, two-thirds of Canadians live within 100km of the border. Day trips and weekend trips are the norm for many. With the United Stat ..read more

When you think about ear protection, images of loud workplaces are usually the ones that come to mind. However, many more images from our daily lives should come to mind as most of us may be unknowingly exposed to potentially damaging levels on a daily basis. This is another big topic to cover. The idea of this article is to introduce you to some ideas and then point you to other additional resources to continue your search. So who are some people who wear ear protection who may not immediately come to mind? Musicians, concert goers, first responders, lawn mowers, etc. So how serious should we ..read more

With the pandemic still a global issue, should avoid non-essential travelling if possible. However, as restrictions are lifted and the pandemic eases, Canadians will inevitably want to start traveling again. Canadians who choose to travel will no doubt continue to take into consideration how the destination country is handling the pandemic. However, Covid is not the only thing that should be a concern. Rather than relying on word-of-mouth or on unreliable sources online, Canada has a database readily available to help Canadians make better informed decisions when travelling. The Official Globa ..read more