Cornwall Fire Services has received a contribution from Enbridge Gas Inc. that could save lives.
Make that, almost certainly will save lives in the city – it’s a grant for 228 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through Enbridge’s Safe Community Project Zero.
“We’re here today to acknowledge a very generous contribution,” said Cornwall Fire Services Deputy Chief Leighton Woods. “It’s an investment in the well-being of our community, (and) we’re deeply grateful for the donation and ongoing commitment to public safety.”
The partnership includes the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council, represented Tuesday in Cornwall by Emily Folco, the distribution centre supervisor with the FMPFSC.
“It’s partnerships like this that allow us to continue our mission of the public safety,” said Woods, at the fire services’ headquarters station on Fourth Street in downtown Cornwall.
Woods noted the good timing of the announcement – it’s Fire Prevention Week in North America – and said that as a condition of the grant, the 228 alarms are being handed out in Cornwall free of charge. The combination alarms are state-of-the-art with voice alert, and no batteries are required; after a 10-year time period has elapsed, the unit gets replaced.
Cornwall Mayor Justin Towndale, pointing to a display table of alarms, called it the first line of defence against fire and carbon-monoxide poisoning, and he referenced the many older structures in the city, constructed when building codes weren’t as stringent as in the recent decades. He also said that some residences don’t have alarms installed at all.
“These (alarms) will save lives,” Towndale said. “We’re very grateful for this donation.”
Towndale pointed out the lives saved because of properly functioning alarms don’t get much attention from the public.
“We likely won’t hear about the lives saved, those aren’t the kinds of calls we get, when (the alarms) activate, and people get out safely,” Towndale said.
Among attendees at the announcement were personnel from the fire department, Cornwall CAO Mathieu Fleury, and Enbridge Gas operations supervisor for Cornwall and area Ian Presley.
The Enbridge and Cornwall Fire Services partnership is aimed at improving home safety and bringing fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero. In 2024, Enbridge has invested $450,000 in Safe Community Project Zero, and over the past 16 years the program has provided more than 101,000 alarms to fire departments in Ontario.
The project zero public education campaign is providing 14,500 alarms to residents of 75 communities across the province.