Smoke Alarms for Everyone.
That’s Minden Hills Fire Department’s new goal; to ensure households in the township are equipped with working detectors and educated about the importance of them.
Thanks to Minden Home Hardware, 250 smoke detectors were donated to the program.
“This is a free program that we’re offering through the township,” said acting fire chief Robert Thibert. “Minden is no stranger to fatal fires. My goal when I came here was to have that number at zero and remain there.”
He said dysfunctional smoke alarms are the leading cause of fatal fires, and most fatal fires happen at night when residents are asleep.
Statistics Canada says one in 10 residential fires in Canada occur in a building with no working fire alarm.
“We’ve developed a community safety team with five firefighters, and when a smoke alarm program request comes in, we send a couple of them to go and engage in some fire safety communications and to install an alarm if needed,” Thibert said.
The team also checks the working order of carbon monoxide detectors.
Minden is leading the way with this initiative.
“This is with the support of our municipal council. They’re really putting the safety of our community first,” Thibert said.
Minden Hills is the first of the four townships in the county to adopt this type of fire safety program.
In Ontario, working smoke alarms are required on each story and outside all sleeping areas.
Carbon monoxide detectors must be installed outside of sleeping areas as well.
All detectors should be tested monthly, and most only last a maximum of 10 years.
“We have people that come in to the store all the time to purchase smoke detectors,” said Steve Teel from Minden Home Hardware. “We realize that not everyone can afford something like that, especially with the way the prices of everything are right now.”
Thibert said the program is needed because it’s unfair to ask families to purchase a new detector if they have a low income.
“If a smoke alarm is $40 and a family is tight on groceries, food will likely take priority for them,” he said.
Requests for the program can be made by phoning the firehall, and soon requests can be made online through the Township of Minden Hills website.
“Our top priority is the safety of residents and visitors,” said Thibert.
“If we can save lives and be part of it, we jump at the chance to do something like that,” Teel added.