FIRE PREVENTION WEEK IS HERE

Smoke Alarms - A Sound You Can Live With the theme for 2010  

TORONTO, Oct 1 /CNW/ -

NEWS

Fire Prevention Week is October 3 to 9 and this year's theme is Smoke Alarms - A Sound You Can Live With.

The Office of the Fire Marshal wants everyone to participate in this year's campaign by testing all the smoke alarms at home to ensure they work.

All too often the fire service in Ontario responds to fires in homes with no working smoke alarms. In many cases these fires often result in serious injuries and death that could have been prevented if smoke alarms were present and working. 

Here are recent examples that clearly demonstrate how working smoke alarms can make a difference in surviving a fire:

• A kitchen fire in Bowmanville resulted when a pot of oil was left unattended on the stove. A working smoke alarm alerted the sleeping father who was able to grab his one-year-old son and escape the fire.
  
  
• A family of six in South Frontenac Township was alerted to a fire in their home at 1:00 a.m. by working smoke alarms. The smoke alarms gave the family enough time to get out safely. The battery in one of the smoke alarms had recently been replaced.
  
  
• Three young people sleeping in a house in Severn Township were awakened by the sound of a smoke alarm. The fire spread so quickly that it completely destroyed the house, but everyone managed to escape unharmed.

Install smoke alarms - it's the law! Every home in Ontario must have a working smoke alarm on every storey and outside all sleeping areas. Smoke Alarms - A Sound You Can Live With.

QUOTES

"Fire Prevention Week is a reminder that we all must make sure our homes are safe and families protected. Smoke alarms save lives. I hope every household is equipped with working smoke alarms, and that these devices are checked regularly. That is not just the law, it is plain common sense."

— Jim Bradley, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services

"Most fatal fires occur at night when everyone is asleep. In many cases the occupants were never alerted to the fire because there were no smoke alarms or the smoke alarms were inoperative. Many occupants in these homes just never wake up or when they are finally aware of the fire, there is no time to escape. Working smoke alarms can give you and your family early warning of fire and enough time to get out safely. Smoke alarms can truly provide a sound you can live with.

— Pat Burke, Ontario Fire Marshal

LEARN MORE

An annual public education event, Fire Prevention Week enables fire departments across the province to organize a variety of educational fire safety activities within their communities. It also commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 in which an estimated 300 people tragically perished and some 18,000 buildings were destroyed. For more information about activities in your area, contact your local fire department.

For further information:

Gina Pontikas, Office of the Fire Marshal, 416-325-3155
Bev Gilbert, Office of the Fire Marshal, 416-325-3178