A series of home visits by the Fort Frances Fire Department in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 5-11) has revealed far too many people are not maintaining a working smoke alarm, Fire Chief Steve Richardson said yesterday.
“On Monday evening, a total of 97 homes were checked to see if they had working smoke alarms,” he noted. “I was shocked and dismayed that 25 percent of those homes weren’t protected by a working smoke alarm.”^Eighty percent of those not in compliance had smoke alarms, but these either had no batteries in them or had dead ones which hadn’t been replaced.
Five percent of the homes had no alarms at all.
“We did have a supply of batteries and smoke detectors with us that night, so we made sure no one was left unprotected. But it’s a serious matter,” Chief Richardson stressed.
As a result, the fire department will be making routine checks of local homes on a bi-weekly basis throughout the winter.
“And of course, we still recommend residents check their alarms once a month and replace the batteries every year,” the chief added.
Chief Richardson stressed the public should be well aware that all residences must have a working smoke alarm under the Ontario Fire Code.
Failure to do so can result in a $235 fine for first-time offenders, and up to $25,000 and jail time for those who consistently are noncompliant with the law, he noted.
The chief said a landlord in Toronto actually was sentenced to time in jail for failing to ensure working smoke alarms in a building he owned.
“It’s very serious. Smoke detectors save lives,” Chief Richardson stressed.
Also in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week, local firefighters were at McDonald’s Restaurant and the Clover Valley Farmers’ Market last Saturday to promote fire safety, and visited local elementary schools.
In related news, firefighters responded to a blaze on the roof of the co-gen plant at the Abitibi-Consolidated mill Wednesday morning.
Chief Richardson said wood flashing on the roof caught fire, noting the flashing was too close to the pressure release exhausts, which give off “considerable heat.”^“Over a period of time, the wood dries. I suspect the wood had burned before, but hadn’t actually caught on fire,” he noted, adding the blaze caused $10,000 in damage to the roof.
While a ladder truck and pumper truck were at the scene, firefighters simply used an elevator in the building to get to the roof, where they used a hose to extinguish the blaze.
The firefighters, who responded to the blaze at 9:30 a.m., were on the scene until around noon.
The fire was ruled an accident and no charges resulted.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
