Today, Enbridge Gas Inc. (Enbridge Gas) and Quinte West Fire and Emergency Services announced they are working together to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero.
Quinte West Fire and Emergency Services received 276 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through Safe Community Project Zero–a public education campaign with the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council (FMPFSC) that will provide more than 10,000 alarms to residents in 50 municipalities across Ontario.
This year, Enbridge Gas invested $315,000 in Safe Community Project Zero, and over the past 15 years, the program has provided more than 86,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments. When properly installed and maintained, combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms help provide the early warning to safely escape from a house fire or carbon monoxide exposure. Carbon monoxide is a toxic, odourless gas that is a by-product of incomplete combustion of many types of common fuels.
“Properly maintaining fuel burning equipment is the best way to reduce potential exposure to carbon monoxide, and an alarm is a critical second line of defense for
protection. When we implement these strategies together, we protect our loved ones from carbon monoxide poisoning, also known as the silent killer,” says Mike Cooney, Eastern Region Supervisor Operations, Enbridge Gas.
“Across Ontario there is a renewed focus on the importance of having working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home. The objective of Safe Community Project Zero is to deliver these alarms to areas where they are needed most,” says Jon Pegg, Ontario Fire Marshal and Chair of the FMPFSC. “It’s a program that fire departments can adopt to help educate their communities about the requirement for all Ontario homes to have a carbon monoxide alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.”
“Last year, Ontario saw record-high numbers of fire-related and carbon monoxide-related deaths. These are very concerning statistics,” says John Whelan, Fire Chief with Quinte West Fire and Emergency Services. “The best way Quinte West residents can protect themselves and their families from these dangers is to make sure their home has working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.”