14 — Friday, January 4, 1991 - North Shore News ABOUT THIS time every year people feel obliged to make reso- lutions — ways they pledge to reform in the new year. More than 600 Canadians will die in home fires during the new year. Most of them will die because they weren't prepared. They don’t take the time to prevent fire and they didn’t learn how to save themselves and their families in case of fire. Don’t become one of those statistics. Make and practice a fire escape plan for your home. Be sure each family member knows at least two different ways to escape in case one way is blocked by fire. And set a meeting place so you'll know everyone is out safely. Don’t plan to call the fire department before you escape — go next door after you're all safely outside. And never go back inside once you’re safely Gut — not for any reason. Install, maintain and test smoke detectors in your home. Even if HOME & GARDEN Make your resolution: pian a fire escape route HOT TIPS North Vancouver District Fire Department you’re renting your home or apartment, buy some if they’re not already in place. Smcke detec- tors now cost less than a couple of movie tickets, so there’s no need to wait. If you now have only one detector, get more for other parts of your house. Place them so they protect you from fires that start in the base- ment, garage or other storage area. If your detectors are wired into the electrical system, get bat- tery-operated detectors for back- up in case the power goes out. Check your home for common fire hazards. You’ve known them since you were in grade school, but you probably have some in your house just the same. That’s why they’re called ‘‘*common’’ hazards. Make it a family project to get your home shipshape today. Don’t give fire a place to start. Own and know how to operate portable fire extinguishers. One in the kitchen is most important because so many fires start there. Garages and basements are good places for extra extinguishers. And don’t wait for a fire to learn how to use it — that’s too late. And fix up your fire-risk habits. Do you smoke in bed, or even in a comfortable sofa or chair that might lull you to sleep? Are your ashtrays tip-resistant? Do you sometimes forget to close the fireplace screen? Think about what you do. Are you always careful about fire? The District of North Van- couver Fire Department will be glad to help with your fire safety resolutions for the new year. We want you around next year to make a new set of resolutions. For further information contact the District of North Vancouver Fire Department non-emergency number 980-7575, or your local fire department. Increase plants’ light level THE DAYS of winter are the shortest of the year, and while many house plants put themselves in an almost dormant state, they do still need light. Common indoor foliage plants such as Areca paim, Fan-tail palin, and many forms of Dra- caena (Corn plant, for example) prefer to have a maximum level of ‘light equivalent to a south- or west-facing window with nothing more than sheer curtains at this time of year. The Canadian Garden Council notes that such windows may well prove too bright for these plants, and particularly for the Norfolk Island pine (now popularly sold for Christmas) when the hours of sunshine - increase, but most foliage plants (exceptions are Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema) and Peace lilly (Spathiphyllum)) prefer as much light as you can supply from mid-November to mid-March. One of the ways light levels may be increased for foliage plants during this darkest time of the year, is to open curtains that or- dinarily remain closed in the daytime hours. Moving your foliage plants nearer the windows from other parts of the rooms will also help. Do remember, however, that it’s likely not a good idea to close drapes around any house plarts on window sills or large foliage plants on the floor near the win- dows. If the windows are only of single glazing, and often with double or triple glazing, on very cold nights the temperatures may drop to below the freezing point and some foliage or entire plants could be damaged or killed. The Canadian Garden Council advises that most of your foliage and/or flowering house plants will not be actively growing during the winter period when light levels are low, so it’s wise to reduce the amount of water you apply. It’s likely best to apply the water at about the same intervals as you did during the spring/summer/ autumn growing season, but- just apply less — as little as one-third — each time. Another method of ensuring better maintenance of your house plants during the low-light period, is the use of artificial light sources. The most common and popular of these are fluorescent fixtures, but these are generally only suitable for smaller potted planis which may be placed direct- ly under or just to the side of a standard two-tube (or for high- light-demanding plants such as Cattleya orchids, four-tube) fix- tures. It is possible to build special lighting units for large floor plants such as palms, scheffleras and various dracaenas, using two or three four-foot two-tube fluores- cent fixtures mounted on their ends to light one or two individual plants. Unfortunately, there is too little commercial availability of such units. Still another form of artificial lighting for plants, which is usual- ly more suited to. larger floor plants, is special incandescent (screw-in) bulbs. Ordinary 60, 100 and even 150 watt household bulbs are not good for plant — growth, but specially designed plant lights have a different spec- trum. Some of these special bulbs are similar to fluorescent tubes and even contain their own ballast as does a fluorescent fixture. West Van. man wins BC. design award Mehran Shifteh, president of West Vancouver Gardenia Landscaping, has won the 1990 B.C. Nursery Trades Associa- tion Award of Excellence for unique residential design and installation at 1716 Drummond Drive in West Vancouver. In addition to this award Shifteh has won three addi- tional landscaping awards for the residences of Mr. and Mrs. Miles of North Vancouver, Mr. and Mrs. Calton and Mr. and Mrs. Skidmore of West Van- couver. January Ss ale BELGIAN CONTAINER JUST ARRIVED “WE'RE STACKED TO THE ROOF” SAVE 20-50% GREAT SAVINGS ON WARDROBES, DINING AND BEDROOM SUITES, OFFICE SETS, DESKS, TABLES, CHAIRS, CHINA CABINETS, SIDEBOARDS AND MORE, IN A VARIETY OF STYLES AND WOODS. BEST SELECTION! BEST SERVICE! BEST PRICES! MON-SAT. 10:36-6:00 SUN. & STAT. HOLIDAYS 12-5 226 S.W. Marine Drive, Vancouver 324-3661 (Between } Mair. & clit Next to » McDonalds) me Ginger Jar First Ever Storewide Sale! everything is marked down (plus additional savings thanks to the GST many of our imported goods were already reduced Dec. 31 Sale ends Jan. 3! 1420 Fell Avenue, North Van 988-7328 (corner of Fell & Marine) 10-60%