Ottawa - Ottawa Fire Services
launch their Spring Wake Up! Get a working
smoke alarm door-to-door awareness campaign,
which informs residents about the value and
legal responsibility of having working smoke
alarms.
During the Fall 2005 campaign, Ottawa Fire
Services knocked on approximately 12,000 doors.
Of the 8,000 residents that were reached,
more than 3,000 or 39 per cent did not have
a working smoke alarm.
“In spite of our efforts and the cooperation
of thousands of residents that we have already
contacted, our message still needs to reach
more members of our community,” said
Ottawa Fire Services Chief Rick Larabie. “We
are taking a proactive approach to reduce
the number of fire related injuries and fatalities
in our city.”
According to Ontario Fire Statistics, out
of 47,842 residential fires that occurred
between 1995 and 2003, smoke alarms operated
only 47 per cent of the time. Smoke alarms
did not operate in 22 per cent of fires, in
21 per cent there were no smoke alarms present
and in 10 per cent the operation of the smoke
alarm was unknown.
Ottawa Fire Services are continuing the program
by targeting areas of the city that have had
the greatest number of fire related incidents.
They are also heading into neighbourhoods
that have a high number of new Canadians to
ensure that people who do not speak English
or French also have access to this life saving
information. Firefighters will check smoke
alarms in homes to make sure they work properly,
provide new batteries, and may install a smoke
alarm or provide residents with a manufacturer
coupon for the purchase of additional smoke
alarms.
The campaign profiles rules set under the
Ontario Fire Code, such as a new regulation
that began March 1, 2006, which requires residents
to install a smoke alarm outside every sleeping
area and on every level of the home.
The Wake Up! Get a working smoke alarm campaign
is expected to continue twice a year for the
next few years due in part to sponsorship
from CTV Ottawa, the Ottawa Senators Hockey
Club, the Ottawa Senators Foundation, Duracell,
the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety
Council and the Canadian Association of Fire
Chiefs.
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