Home safety checks help to reduce fire deaths in St-Lazare
Firefighters in St-Lazare will be visiting local homes again this summer to check smoke alarms and review other fire safety and prevention measures.
The home visits will take place over 10 weeks between June and August, and are aimed at reducing the number of fire-related deaths and property losses, encouraging homeowners to do more to reduce the risk of fire in the home, and to publicize municipal fire safety regulations and ensure residents comply. Firefighters aim to visit each home in the town at least once every five years.
“When you have a smoke alarm your chance of surviving is a lot greater. It’s very important,” said Daniel Boyer, the town’ director of public safety and fire chief.
Since the home checks began nine years ago, St-Lazare has not recorded a single fatality due to a house fire, Boyer said. He estimated over 5,000 smoke detectors have been upgraded or replaced in the town since the program began.
“The fire department isn’t just for putting fires out. Prevention is really important,” Boyer said. “At night when I sleep I’m pretty confident that we have a safe city.”
According to Fire Prevention Canada, fire kills eight people each week in Canada, with residential fires accounting for 73 per cent of these fatalities. Recent research indicates that some modern homes may burn faster than older homes due to the use of highly flammable synthetic building materials, reducing the amount of time people have to escape a fire from the previous guideline of 17 minutes to as little as three minutes. According to the Quebec Firefighters Association, in almost all deadly house fires, smoke alarms were absent or not functioning correctly.
“You have only a few minutes to get out,” Boyer said. “The fire doubles every minute. The materials in our house and in our furniture are very different from 30 years ago. There is less wood and more synthetics. The smoke gets really bad and it’s really toxic these days.”
Boyer said aside from ensuring smoke detectors are working, it’s important for families to have an evacuation plan so that everyone knows what to do if a fire starts in the home.
Municipal bylaws in St-Lazare are strict, requiring building owners to install and maintain fire alarms on every floor of an inhabited building, including the basement. Smoke detectors must also be wired in with a battery backup in case of power outages, a requirement that is specific to StLazare. During the safety checks, homeowners will be asked to replace alarms that are wired-only or battery-only. Defective smoke detectors or those that are more than 10 years old must be replaced.
When conducting home visits, firefighters will show homeowners an identification card. They can also be identified by their uniforms and will be driving official fire department vehicles. If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Fire Prevention Division at 450-424-8000, ext. 207.