October is Fire Prevention Month, and Chatham-Kent Fire and Rescue wants to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are up to date.
Firefighters from all 19 stations will be canvassing communities to check for working alarms and to chat with residents about fire safety as a part of the CHiRP (Community Home Fire Safety Check) program.
If officials visit your home and your smoke or carbon monoxide alarms are expired or not working, you won't get in trouble.
"This is a purely education-based program," said Community Safety Officer Whitney Burk. "If we do find those alarms that are out of date, we either educate people about how to update them, or in some cases, we're able to update them for them. It's really just about being safe. Nobody will get in trouble."
The entire process typically takes 10 to 15 minutes, and Burk added that it's so important to check your smoke alarms.
"Older alarms that are expired can take up to two and a half minutes to go off when there's a fire, whereas a new alarm is going to take about 15 seconds," said Burk. "Not to be the bearer of terrible news, but what we do know is that in a house fire, you have less than three minutes to escape without injury or worse. So if your alarm is old, and it's taking two and a half minutes to go off, that's just not a lot of time for us to exit our home."
The number of smoke alarms you should have depends on the home. "If you have a two-storey home, you would be required to have two smoke alarms, one on each level and outside of the bedroom, " said Burk. "If you live in a rancher, you would be required to have one."
If you're unsure if your alarms are working or are in the correct location, you can schedule a CHiRP Home Safety Check. You can do that by visiting www.ckfire.ca, or by calling 519-360-1998.
Chatham-Kent firefighters will also be visiting schools across the municipality throughout Fire Prevention Month, distributing promotional items and educating students on fire safety practices.
Upcoming CHiRP Day in CK Community Canvassing Dates:
October 4 – Blenheim and surrounding area
October 11 – Wheatley
October 16 – Tilbury
October 18 – Merlin
October 18 – Tupperville (Open House)
October 25 – Chatham, Wallaceburg, and Ridgetown
