Chestermere Fire Services will be educating the public about the sounds smoke alarms make, what those sounds mean, and how to respond to them during Fire Prevention Week from Oct. 3 to Oct. 9.
The 2021 theme of Fire Prevention Week is “Lear the Sounds of Fire Safety.”
“Community members are encouraged to tune in to the city’s social media channels this week for videos, resources, information, and some activities for kids that will help with overall fire safety education in Chestermere,” said City of Chestermere Firefighter, Jake Gallinger.
Most resources will focus on fire and carbon monoxide alarms and how to install, use and replace them. There will also be resources shared about alarms for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The annual theme of Fire Prevention Week is chosen by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
According to a recent NFPA report, working smoke alarms in the home reduce the risk of death in a fire by more than half.
Almost three out of five home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that failed to operate.
“The most common factors for smoke alarms failing to operate are usually missing or non-functional power sources, including missing or disconnected batteries, dead batteries, or other power issues,” Gallinger said.
Adding, “Sometimes when an alarm starts to chirp due to low battery warnings, people will remove the batteries entirely or disassemble the alarm, and that is very dangerous.”
Chestermere Fire Services recommends that all residents have working smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors on every level of their home outside each sleeping area. They can be battery-operated or hard-wired so that if one of them goes off, they all will.
“Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms should be tested monthly, and the batteries should be replaced once each year. Smoke alarms should also have an expiry date on them, or a manufacturer sticker that indicates when they are due to be replaced, as most detectors only have a seven to the 10-year life cycle,” Gallinger said.
Gallinger adds that when a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm sounds, residents should respond immediately by exiting the home as quickly as possible.
For additional tools and resources visit the City of Chestermere’s Fire safety programs webpage at https://www.chestermere.ca/459/Fire-Safety-Programs or visit https://www.nfpa.org/fpw.
Information for the community will also be shared from Oct. 3 to Oct. 9 on the City’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts and using #FirePreventionWeek
