Did you know one in three fire deaths happen in homes with no working smoke alarms, and over 65 per cent of all carbon monoxide (CO) deaths and injuries occur in the home?
To enhance the protection of homes in our town, the Oakville Fire department has launched the Safe Home Alarm Program, beginning Nov. 2022, to ensure a free smoke/CO alarm is available for a bedroom. This program is a risk reduction program aimed at different segments in our community "known to be at greater risk of fire."
As part of the initiative, Fire department officials will distribute 143 smoke alarms at Sheridan College’s Trafalgar campus on Feb 3, 2022.
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The Oakville Fire Department has partnered with the following community agencies to distribute the alarms free of charge:
- HMC Connections to help new immigrants
- Sheridan College for off-campus housing
- Oakville Meals on Wheels to support older adults living at home
- Fare Share Food Bank to help low-income families
Tomorrow’s event is the last one of the distribution events that recently concluded at Meals on Wheels, HMC Connections and the Fare Share Food Bank.
"We are working together with Enbridge Gas Inc. and, the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero," Oakville Fire Department’s Deputy Fire Chief Kalpana Rajgopalan said.
It received 486 combination smoke and CO alarms through Safe Community Project Zero- a public education campaign that will provide more than 8,000 alarms to residents in 50 municipalities across Ontario.
Deputy Fire Chief Rajgopalan added that when properly installed and maintained, combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms help provide the early warning to safely escape from a house fire or carbon monoxide exposure.
The fire department maintains that "every home must have working smoke alarms on every level and working smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms outside every sleeping area." It recommends that residents install smoke alarms in bedrooms to enhance fire safety.