Alarm saves man’s life
Niagara Falls firefighters start safety campaign with real-life example of how working detectors make a difference
A Niagara Falls man is alive thanks to a working smoke alarm in his apartment, says the Niagara Falls Fire Department.
Firefighters responded to a call for an alarm investigation shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday at an apartment building on Dorchester Road.
A fire was burning inside a thirdfloor apartment and the lone occupant was removed and taken to Greater Niagara General Hospital in Niagara Falls where he was treated for his injuries.
No other people were injured in the fire.
“A man is alive today thanks to having working smoke alarms in his apartment,” said fire Chief Jim Boutilier.
“What more proof do we need to show residents that working smoke alarms do in fact save lives?”
The fire was contained to one apartment unit and all other tenants were able to return to their units the same night.
“We are glad that the alarm was reported to the fire department and crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire and save a life,” said Boutilier.
The fire department says so far in 2017, there have been 29 fire fatalities in Ontario.
Meanwhile, the fire department began its annual Wake Up campaign Monday to help residents ensure their homes are safe by having the necessary smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Having working smoke alarms is the law in Ontario.
Smoke alarms must be installed on every storey of homes and outside all sleeping areas.
Failure to install or maintain smoke alarms in working condition can result in a fine of up to $50,000 and/or up to one year in jail for individuals, and up to $100,000 for corporations.
Ben Trendle, a captain with the fire department, said this is the campaign’s sixth year.
He said other fire departments have similar programs, but this one is unique to Niagara Falls.
“Basically firefighters will attend on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings throughout the month of May,” said Trendle.
He said firefighters will target neighbourhoods throughout the city that have either had fire incidents or where homes were built prior to smoke-alarm legislation.
“We just meet with the residents, ask to come in their homes and check to make sure that the required number of smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide alarms are installed. We just discuss fire safety with the residents.
“It’s an opportunity to raise awareness and just make sure that people are safe.”
Trendle said the unique aspect about the program is the department does not issue fines during the campaign.
“We do carry smoke and CO alarms and batteries with us during this program, and if we find homes that don’t have the required number of alarms we install them for a nominal fee.”
He said every smoke alarm needs to have a test function on it, so “just by pressing the test button, if the smoke alarm sounds that’s a good indication that it is working.”
Trendle said for smoke alarms that may be at an unreachable height, residents can use a broom handle to test them.
“It’s not the time of year that we encourage people to change their batteries, but we find a lot of times people (say) ‘yeah, I put up a smoke alarm when I moved in five years ago and everything ’s great,’ and then we find that the smoke alarm is not working because the battery is dead,” he said.
“A simple fix like changing the batteries twice a year can definitely make the difference.”
Trendle said despite awareness campaigns, it’s still common for the fire department to come across homes without working smoke alarms.
“We’re at a point now where we’re seeing smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide alarms installed, but now we’re at a maintenance issue where the smoke alarms are really old and past their shelf life and need to be replaced, or that the batteries are dead in them.”
He said the average life expectancy of a smoke alarm is 10 years.