Madawaska Valley Fire Chief Corwyn Quade advises MV residents that Test Your Smoke Alarm Day is this Thursday, September 28, 2023. Having an official day reminding us to test our smoke alarms is designed to try to ensure smoke alarms across Ontario are working. Image: Twitter/Ontario Fire Marshal #SavedByTheBeep
The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office started this campaign and area fire departments are participating in educating the public. Sadly, the reason for this campaign is that there were 133 fire fatalities in Ontario during 2022. This total represents the most fatalities per year in more than 20 years. And up until the end of August in 2023, so far 73 people have perished in fires. Most of these fires happened where there was no working smoke alarm in the home.
No time to lose!
When a fire breaks out in your home, you have no time to waste before getting out. Working smoke alarms give you enough warning to get out and stay out. A modern home burns eight times faster than a home 50 years ago. Fires double in size every 30 seconds, temperatures can reach 900 degrees Fahrenheit (482 Degrees Celsius). Smoke will fill three-quarters of the room in up to three minutes and you will never survive in those conditions.
Smoke alarms are required on every level of your home and outside each sleeping area. Landlords are responsible for the installation of a fire alarm in the rental units. It is the responsibility of the tenant and landlord to ensure it is working.
If you have any questions, you should contact your local fire department. They would be more than happy to answer your questions.
Madawaska Valley Fire Department(2023,Sept.25) Test your smoke alarm message [media release]