Home Programs
Free community sessions English and French
Education programs
Four programs, each two to three hours, each ending with something written down. Community sessions are free to attend and no prior knowledge is assumed.
Program
Fire prevention
Household fires rarely begin the way people expect. This program works through the actual sources — cooking left unattended, electrical loads on old circuits, extension cords under rugs, dryer lint, improperly discarded smoking materials — and then spends the second half on the two things that decide the outcome: working alarms and a practised way out.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
- Identify the five most common ignition sources in a residential setting and the household habit that addresses each one.
- Place and maintain smoke alarms correctly, including the ten-year replacement rule and why alarms are dated on the back.
- Explain the difference between ionisation and photoelectric sensing in ordinary language, and what that means when buying a replacement.
- Draw a floor plan marking two exits from every room, and identify which secondary exits are currently obstructed.
- Run a household escape drill, including how to check a door for heat and what to do when a route is blocked.
- Decide when a portable extinguisher is appropriate and when the only correct action is to leave and call 911.
| Duration | 2 hours |
|---|---|
| Format | In person or online |
| Group size | Up to 40 participants |
| Cost | Free at community venues; cost-recovery quote for private bookings |
| Materials | Printed workbook included; PDF versions in the resource library |
| Languages | English and French |
Who should attend
- Owners of homes built before 1990, where wiring and alarm placement often predate current expectations
- Households where cooking, candles or wood heat are part of daily routine
- Families with children who have never taken part in a home fire drill
- Residents of apartment or condominium buildings, who need the in-suite and corridor material
Participants under 16 are welcome with an accompanying adult.
Program
Emergency planning
The plan is the point. Participants receive the planning workbook at the start of the session and leave with the core pages completed: who calls whom, where everyone goes, what leaves the house with you and what happens if the people who normally make decisions are not there. Instructors circulate during a work period so that the household-specific questions get answered while the pen is still in hand.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
- Complete a written household emergency plan covering contacts, meeting places and responsibilities.
- Choose a near meeting place and an out-of-neighbourhood one, and explain why both are needed.
- Nominate an out-of-province contact and understand why long-distance lines often work when local ones do not.
- Assemble a document folder: identification, insurance, prescriptions, ownership records and a household inventory.
- Plan for the members of the household who cannot plan for themselves, including children, dependent adults and pets.
- Set a review schedule tied to something you already do twice a year, so the plan does not quietly expire.
| Duration | 2.5 hours |
|---|---|
| Format | In person |
| Group size | Up to 30 participants |
| Cost | Free at community venues; cost-recovery quote for private bookings |
| Materials | Printed workbook included; PDF versions in the resource library |
| Languages | English and French |
Who should attend
- Households that have discussed a plan but never written one down
- Families with school-aged children who need to align with school emergency procedures
- Caregivers coordinating for a parent or dependent adult in a separate residence
- Anyone who has recently moved and whose old arrangements no longer apply
Participants under 16 are welcome with an accompanying adult.
Program
First aid awareness
This is awareness-level education, not certification. It exists because the minutes before help arrives are usually managed by whoever is standing there, and that person is usually not trained. The session covers recognising an emergency, calling for help in a way that speeds up dispatch, and assembling a household kit that matches your household rather than a generic list.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
- Recognise the signs that a situation requires emergency medical help rather than a walk-in clinic.
- Make an effective 911 call: what dispatchers need first, and why staying on the line matters.
- Assemble and maintain a home first aid kit, including medication storage and expiry checks.
- Prepare a medical information sheet for each household member that a paramedic can read in ten seconds.
- Understand the basic principles of scene safety before assisting anyone.
- Know where certified training is available locally, and which certification suits your situation.
| Duration | 3 hours |
|---|---|
| Format | In person |
| Group size | Up to 24 participants |
| Cost | Free at community venues; cost-recovery quote for private bookings |
| Materials | Printed workbook included; PDF versions in the resource library |
| Languages | English and French |
Who should attend
- Households with young children, older adults or anyone with a chronic condition
- People who want an introduction before committing to a certification course
- Community volunteers who are often first on the scene at events
- Anyone who has a first aid kit at home but has not opened it in several years
Participants under 16 are welcome with an accompanying adult.
Program
Disaster readiness
Canadian households are far more likely to face a long power failure, an ice storm, basement flooding, wildfire smoke or a boil-water advisory than a catastrophic single event. This program deals with those: staying warm without heat, keeping food safe, managing water, understanding the difference between sheltering in place and evacuating, and knowing what an evacuation order actually requires of you.
Learning objectives
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
- Build a seventy-two hour supply kit sized to your household, and know what to rotate and when.
- Keep a home habitable during an extended power failure without introducing a carbon monoxide risk.
- Judge food and water safety during an outage, and prepare for a boil-water advisory.
- Reduce basement flooding risk through drainage, sump maintenance and how you store what is down there.
- Distinguish an evacuation alert from an order, and prepare a bag that can leave with you in fifteen minutes.
- Find and verify official local emergency information, and recognise unreliable sources during an event.
| Duration | 2 hours |
|---|---|
| Format | In person or online |
| Group size | Up to 40 participants |
| Cost | Free at community venues; cost-recovery quote for private bookings |
| Materials | Printed workbook included; PDF versions in the resource library |
| Languages | English and French |
Who should attend
- Households in areas with a history of storm-related outages or overland flooding
- Owners of properties with finished basements or below-grade storage
- People who rely on electrically powered medical equipment
- Anyone who has recently experienced an outage longer than twenty-four hours
Participants under 16 are welcome with an accompanying adult.
Scheduling
How sessions are scheduled
We publish the schedule two months at a time. Community sessions are hosted by libraries, recreation centres and community associations, and registration is handled by the host venue.
Autumn term
September to December
Fire prevention and emergency planning run most weeks, matched to the start of the heating season.
Winter term
January to March
Disaster readiness runs weekly, with additional sessions added after any significant regional weather event.
Spring term
April to June
First aid awareness and flood preparation, alongside our volunteer instructor training intake.
Program questions
Registration, delivery and materials
Scheduled community sessions are listed with our host venues — usually the public library branch or recreation centre where the session takes place — and registration is handled by the venue. You can also email us and we will point you to the next session near you.
Please register even for free sessions. It tells us how many workbooks to print and lets us contact you if a session is moved.
Yes. We deliver at community halls, workplaces, places of worship, condominium common rooms and seniors’ residences. The room needs seating for the group, a table surface for writing, and step-free access.
Send a request through the contact page with your preferred dates and expected attendance. We normally schedule six to ten weeks ahead.
Eight for an in-person session. Below that number the work period does not function well, since much of the value comes from questions asked across a group.
Smaller groups are welcome to join a scheduled community session instead, and we can reserve seats together.
Participants receive a signed record of attendance on request, which some employers and volunteer organisations accept. It is not a certification and does not indicate assessed competency.
The first aid awareness program in particular is not certified training and does not meet workplace first aid requirements.
Yes. Our core programs are delivered in French by bilingual instructors, and all printed workbooks and checklists are available in both official languages.
For other languages we work with community organisations to arrange interpretation. Please give us at least four weeks’ notice so the interpreter can review the material in advance.