Calgary Fire Department visits 100 homes during annual smoke alarm blitz
As part of Fire Prevention Week running from October 6th to 12th, 2019, members of the Calgary Fire Department, along with representatives from the Alberta Fire Commissioner’s Office and ATCO, visited an area in the community of Penbrooke Meadows to help install, test and replace their smoke alarms, and remind residents about the importance of being attentive while cooking. ATCO crews joined last night's mission to inspect and install carbon monoxide alarms. In total, 35 smoke alarms and 44 carbon monoxide alarms were installed in 68 homes.
“We know that fires can double in size every 30 to 60 seconds, and it matters greatly how quickly both the homeowner and fire service responds,” said Fire Chief Steve Dongworth. “Our Calgary theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week is: Stand By Your Pan. Kitchen fires are the number one cause of house fires in our city and we want to build awareness of how to prevent them. You can protect yourself and your family by looking for places fires can start, listening for the sound of your smoke alarm and learning two ways out of your home in the event of an emergency.”
The Calgary Fire Department identifies communities to blitz by looking at when homes were built, then determining which areas are likely to have the highest concentration of homes with expired smoke alarms. Combined with population analysis, this data allows the Calgary Fire Department to target the right neighbourhoods for maximum risk mitigation.
For ATCO, Fire Prevention Week is an opportunity to connect with Calgarians and give them information and resources they need to keep themselves and their families safe. “We often work alongside the Calgary Fire Department to help protect our communities,” says Chris Bottoms, Customer Service Supervisor – South with Natural Gas Distribution for ATCO “Installing a carbon monoxide alarm can save lives. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, silent and odourless toxic gas and is often referred to as the ‘silent killer’. We encourage everyone to test their alarms and visit atco.com to download a carbon monoxide prevention checklist.”
In addition to our annual smoke alarm blitz, Calgary Fire has visited more than 431,874 homes through our Home Safety Program since 1996. This program is designed to share important home safety information, inspect smoke alarms and, when needed, replace smoke alarm batteries or replace and install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Fire Prevention Week is held annually by fire departments across North America. It was proclaimed in Canada in 1919 to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, as well as a major fire that destroyed the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa on February 3, 1916.
To learn more about Fire Prevention Week, visit calgary.ca/firepreventionweek .
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