Fire prevention
Where household fires actually start, how alarms are placed and maintained, and how a family practises getting out in under three minutes.
2 hours · In person or online
Non-profit education · Established 2004
Most of home safety is decided long before anything goes wrong.
Ofor is a Canadian education provider working with households, tenants’ groups and property owners. We run community workshops, publish plain-language checklists, and help families write an emergency plan they will actually use.
We are not a contractor, an insurer or a retailer. We do not sell equipment and we do not perform inspections — which is why our material can stay neutral about brands.
Our programs
Four programs, each built around one household decision
Every program is taught by an instructor with field experience and is reviewed annually against current Canadian guidance. Sessions run in community venues, workplaces and residential buildings across the National Capital Region.
Emergency planning
Building a written household plan: exit routes, meeting places, out-of-province contacts, and the documents you would need if you could not go home.
2.5 hours · In person
First aid awareness
An introduction to recognising a medical emergency, calling for help clearly, and what a well-stocked home kit contains. Awareness level, not certification.
3 hours · In person
Disaster readiness
Preparing for the events Canadian households actually face: extended power failures, ice storms, flooding, wildfire smoke and evacuation orders.
2 hours · In person or online
About Ofor
Founded after an ice storm, by people who were unprepared for it
Ofor began in 2004 as a volunteer committee in an Ottawa community centre. Its founders had spent several days without power six years earlier and had discovered, in the dark, how much of their household planning existed only as a vague intention.
Twenty-two years later we are a registered non-profit with eleven staff and thirty-four trained volunteer instructors. The method has not changed: written plans, plain language, and material that assumes no prior knowledge and no particular budget.
Mission
To give every household in the communities we serve the knowledge to reduce everyday risk and the confidence to act during the first hours of an emergency.
Vision
Communities where preparedness is ordinary household maintenance rather than a response to the last disaster.
What we hold to
- Independence. No product endorsements, ever.
- Plain language. If a sentence needs a glossary, we rewrite it.
- Access. Community sessions are free and venues are step-free.
- Evidence. Material is reviewed annually against current guidance.
- Follow-through. Plans are written during the session, not afterwards.
Educational resources
Printable material you can finish at the kitchen table
Every document is designed to be printed in black and white on a home printer, filled in by hand, and kept somewhere visible. All materials are free for household, school and community use.
Emergency planning guide
A 24-page workbook that walks a household through a complete written plan, one section per evening.
PDF · 24 pages · 1.8 MB
Fire safety checklist
A room-by-room inspection sheet covering alarms, heating, electrical loads, storage and exits.
PDF · 4 pages · 320 KB
Family emergency plan
A fill-in template for contacts, meeting places, medical details and school or care arrangements.
PDF · 2 pages · 180 KB
Home inspection record
A twice-yearly log for alarm tests, extinguisher checks, filter changes and shut-off valve locations.
PDF · 3 pages · 240 KB
Featured articles
Recent writing from our education team
Short, sourced pieces on the questions that come up most often in our workshops. New articles are published on the first Tuesday of each month.
How often should smoke alarms be tested?
Monthly testing takes about twenty seconds per alarm. This article explains what the test button does, what it does not check, and why alarms are replaced after ten years.
Preparing your home for an emergency
A practical sequence for households starting from nothing: what to do this week, this month and this year, and which steps cost nothing at all.
Creating a family communication plan
Local phone networks are often congested when regional networks are not. How to choose an out-of-province contact and make sure everyone can reach them.
First aid supplies every household should have
What belongs in a home kit, what to keep in the car, how to store medication safely, and the expiry dates that are worth writing on the lid.
By the numbers
Twenty-two years of community teaching
Figures cover 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2025 and are reported in our annual review, published each March.
1,347Community workshops delivered
38,600Households educated
22Years serving communities
96,000+Educational materials distributed
Participant feedback
What people say after a session
Comments are collected on paper at the end of each workshop and published with written permission. Names are used with consent; full evaluation summaries are included in our annual review.
We took the emergency planning workshop as a family, including our two teenagers. The instructor had us write the plan in the room rather than take it home to finish, which is the only reason it actually got done.
I manage a twelve-unit building and asked Ofor to run a session for residents. They adapted the material for apartment living — shared corridors, balconies, where extinguishers live — instead of using the standard house examples.
The home inspection checklist found three things I had never thought about, including the dryer vent. Nothing about the material felt like a sales pitch for a product, which is why I trusted it.
Frequently asked questions
Questions we are asked most often
Community workshops delivered in public libraries, recreation centres and community halls are offered at no cost to participants. They are funded through municipal partnerships, foundation grants and donations.
Sessions requested by a private organisation — a condominium corporation, an employer or a property management company — are quoted on a cost-recovery basis. We will always tell you the full cost before you commit.
No. Our first aid program is awareness-level education. It helps participants recognise an emergency, call for help clearly and understand what a household kit should contain.
It does not lead to a certificate and it does not replace certified training. If you need certification for work, we will point you to an accredited provider in your region.
Yes. Most of our workshops happen because a resident group, faith community, tenants’ association or service club asked for one. Send a request through the contact page with your preferred dates, the venue and the number of people you expect.
We usually confirm within five business days. Sessions are typically scheduled six to ten weeks out.
Yes, for non-commercial use. Households, schools, libraries and community groups may print and distribute our checklists and templates provided the Ofor attribution line and the revision date stay on the page.
Commercial reproduction, resale or use in paid training requires written permission. See our terms and conditions for the full licence.
No. We do not perform inspections, we do not certify buildings and we do not sell, install or endorse any product or brand. That separation is deliberate: it means our guidance is not shaped by what we would be paid to recommend.
For a code matter, contact your municipal building department or fire prevention office. For an installation, use a licensed contractor.
Visit or contact us
Our office is in downtown Ottawa
The office is on the sixth floor, with step-free access from Laurier Avenue West and an accessible washroom on the same level. Drop-in visits are welcome during business hours, though booking ahead means someone from the education team will be free to speak with you.
- Address
- 220 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 640
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5Z9 - Phone
- (613) 555-0184
- info@ofor.info
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
Closed on statutory holidays
Nearest transit: Laurier Avenue at Bank Street. Paid underground parking is available in the building; visitor spaces are limited.