Smoke alarms save lives.
Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries. If there is a fire in your home, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out. Have a Home Fire Escape Plan - download one here!
Here's what you need to know:
- A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home.
- Smoke alarms should be interconnected. When one sounds, they all sound.
- Large homes may need extra smoke alarms.
- Test your smoke alarms at least once a month. Press the test button to be sure the alarm is working.
- Today’s smoke alarms will be more technologically advanced to respond to a multitude of fire conditions, yet mitigate false alarms.
- When a smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside.
- Replace all smoke alarms in your home every 10 years.
- More about installation and maintenance of home smoke alarms.
Download a smoke alarm safety tip sheet!
For more information about smoke alarms, see the National Fire Protection Association's Public Education page here.
Saved by the Beep - Test your Smoke alarm Day
Thursday Sept. 28, 2023, is Ontario's first Test Your Smoke Alarm Day! Last year there were 133 fire fatalities in the province – the most in 20 years. As part of Test Your Smoke Alarm Day, all Ontarians are encouraged to learn more about smoke alarms, fire safety, and home fire escape planning, which can save the lives of you and your loved ones. Most importantly, we want you to test your smoke alarms!
Carbon Monoxide - The Invisible Killer
Although the popularity of carbon monoxide (CO) alarms has been growing in recent years, it cannot be assumed that everyone is familiar with the hazards of carbon monoxide poisoning in the home.
Often called the invisible killer, carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are potential sources of carbon monoxide. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
- The dangers of CO exposure depend on a number of variables, including the victim's health and activity level. Infants, pregnant women, and people with physical conditions that limit their body's ability to use oxygen (i.e. emphysema, asthma, heart disease) can be more severely affected by lower concentrations of CO than healthy adults would be.
- A person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer period of time or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.
- In 2010, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 80,100 non-fire CO incidents in which carbon monoxide was found, or an average of nine such calls per hour. The number of incidents increased 96 % from 40,900 incidents reported in 2003. This increase is most likely due to the increased use of CO detectors, which alert people to the presence of CO.
Download a carbon monoxide safety tip sheet.
For more information about carbon monoxide safety, visit the National Fire Protection Association's Public Education page and COsafety.ca
Reproduced from NFPA’s website, www.nfpa.org/publiceducation. © NFPA.
