Fire Prevention Week runs from October 3-9 and this year’s fire safety theme is “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety.”
North Bay Fire & Emergency Services is urging everyone to Get Loud! and “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety.
By law, every home in Ontario must have a working smoke alarm on every storey, and outside all sleeping areas however, too often fatal fires in Ontario occur in homes where there were no working smoke alarms.
"Do you know what your smoke alarm is telling you with those beeps, asks Fire Chief Jason Whiteley?
He is challenging you to “Get Loud!” and push the test button on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms every month to learn the sound alarms make.
"Testing alarms produces a beep, the same sound of alarms in an emergency," says Whiteley. "Replace the batteries if the alarms do not sound when the test button is pushed. If the alarms still don’t sound, replace the alarms. Testing your alarms is the way to ensure they are working and that you and your family can be alerted in the event of a fire."
Safety tips to help you “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety”
- A continuous set of three loud beeps—beep, beep, beep—means smoke or fire. Get out, call 9-1-1, and stay out.
- A single chirp every 30 or 60 seconds means the battery is low and must be changed.
- All smoke alarms must be replaced after 10 years – carbon monoxide alarms every 7 years.
- Chirping that continues after the battery has been replaced means the alarm is at the end of its life and the unit must be replaced.
- Make sure your smoke and CO alarms meet the needs of all your family members, including those who may not hear an alarm sounding
Fire Prevention Week is proclaimed annually by the Governor-General and was first recognized in Canada in 1923. It was first established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
