Fire Chief Scott Selle is calling on all residents of the City of Pembroke to test their smoke alarms on September 28 as part of Test Your Smoke Alarm Day. Be prepared to be Saved by the Beep with a working smoke alarm – it is your best chance to keep you and your family safe in the event of a fire.
The City of Pembroke is joining communities across Ontario on September 28 by asking everyone to take a minute and to ensure that there are working smoke alarms installed in their home.
“Being prepared to act in the event of a fire can start with simply pressing the test button and having the confidence that a working smoke alarm is in your home,” said Chief Selle. “Lives will be saved by regularly testing smoke alarms at least once a month, refreshing batteries at least once a year, and replacing smoke alarms older than 10 years.”
Ontario continues to lose people to deadly fires. Many of these fires were found to have no working smoke alarms and stand as a reminder that only working smoke alarms will alert you to a fire and give you and your loved ones enough time to safely escape. Our former MPP, John Yakabuski knew this. That’s why he brought forward legislation to make September 28 Test Your Smoke Alarm Day across Ontario.
“In Ontario, we’ve seen a significant rise in fatal fires and the number of people we have lost in these fires is very concerning,” said Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg. “Entire families have been lost to fire and the most troubling part is that the majority of these fires did not have a working smoke alarm in the home. Had there been working smoke alarms, and a well thought out and practiced home fire escape plan, these deaths may have been prevented.”
Our community has recently witnessed firsthand the benefits of working smoke alarms, notifying a family of a fire in their home and giving them the time they needed to escape unharmed.
The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM), with the support of fire services and fire safety partners across Ontario, is asking Ontarians to regularly test their smoke alarms with a challenge to test all smoke alarms in their residence on September 28. For more information visit www.savedbythebeep.ca.
(Richard Evans)