The Smoke Alarm For Every Baby program is more than six months old. To date, more than 150 smoke alarms have been distributed to the parents of each newborn baby in the district.
The program is funded by the Rainy River District Mutual Aid Fire Association and Canadian Tire (Fort Frances). It is supported by Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc. in Fort Frances and Atikokan General Hospital, who distribute these life-saving gifts.
I encourage all parents who received these smoke alarms to properly install and maintain them in their child’s room. A recent house fire in Winnipeg could have been tragic but the family’s house was equipped with a smoke alarm–a gift from the city fire department’s S.A.F.E. Baby program.
Their program ran from 1996 to 1998. The program ended in 1998 when funding no longer was available. Work is being done to get it up and running again.
A house fire last month in this district proved once again that smoke alarms save lives. Three people are alive today because of these life-saving devices.
In the rest of Canada, fire is a widespread tragedy. We are ranked at having the world’s third worst record for fire losses and the fifth for loss of life. At our present population, Canada has the second highest death rate from fire. We average 465 fire deaths a year and 3,685 injuries a year.
The trend is considered and continues to date with no improvement!
Summer is here and all of us are preoccupied with many things. I urge you to make time for fire safety.
Properly installed and maintained working smoke alarms on every level of your home and cottage, outside sleeping areas, and inside the bedrooms are critical for early detection of fire.
Fact: If you never need what you learn about fire safety, you have lost nothing. If you never learn what you need, you may lose everything…your family and your life!
Tyler Moffitt is a part-time firefighter, first aid instructor, and co-ordinator of the S.A.F.E. Baby program.
