Carbon monoxide/smoke detectors delivered to Scugog Fire to help bring fire deaths down to zero

Safe Community Project Zero – a public education campaign working to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero – has delivered 180 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to Scugog Fire & Emergency Services.

The campaign is organized through the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Fire Safety Council and funded in part by Enbridge Gas, which has invested $450,000 in Project Zero over the past 16 years, providing more than 101,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.

This year the campaign will see more than 14,500 alarms provided to residents in 75 communities across Ontario.

“Scugog Fire is excited and thankful to have been selected for Project Zero,” said Fire Chief Mike Matthews. “Combination carbon monoxide and smoke alarms, when properly installed and maintained, provide an early warning that is needed to help residents safely escape from a house fire or carbon monoxide exposure. Our team will utilize this donation to provide alarms to community members who require them.”

Scugog Fire and Emergency Services protects the Township of Scugog and the Mississauga’s of Scugog Island First Nation. Through the ‘Alarmed for Life’ program, Scugog Fire regularly visits residents to ensure that they have adequate smoke & carbon monoxide alarms.

Carbon monoxide is a toxic, odourless gas that is a by-product of incomplete combustion of many types of common fuels and Enbridge Gas Operations Manager (GTA East) Ryan Marshall said the best way to reduce potential exposure to carbon monoxide is to properly maintain fuel-burning equipment. “These alarms are a critical second line of defence against carbon monoxide poisoning, known as ‘the silent killer’. We’re proud to support our communities and raise awareness and help Ontarians implement these protection strategies.”

The Fire Safety Council was established in 1993 with a mission to help create “a world where no one is hurt by fire.” Chaired by the Ontario Fire Marshal, the council promotes fire prevention and public education through sponsorships and partnerships with various groups and individuals with an interest in public safety.

“Across Ontario there is a renewed focus on the importance of having working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home. The objective of Safe Community Project Zero is to deliver these alarms to areas where they are needed most,” said Ontario Fire Marshall Jon Pegg, who also chairs the Fire Safety Council. “It’s a program that helps fire departments educate their communities about the requirements to have working smoke alarms installed in all Ontario homes and for all Ontario homes to have a carbon monoxide alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.”