Efforts to reduce fire and carbon monoxide deaths got a boost this week when Enbridge Gas and LaSalle Fire Service announced they'll work together.
This year, Enbridge Gas invested $450,000 in Safe Community Project Zero. Over the past 17 years, it's provided 115,000 smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and this year, it's giving fire services in 75 communities 14,200 alarms.
LaSalle Fire Service received 252 alarms through the project, valued at $24,400.
Properly installed and maintained, these alarms give residents an early warning to escape a fire or carbon monoxide exposure.
"Carbon monoxide alarms play a vital role as a second line of defense against this invisible threat, often called 'the silent killer, '" said Supervisor of Operations at Enbridge Gas, Ben Townsend. "Proper maintenance of fuel-burning appliances is the most effective way to prevent carbon monoxide exposure."
Ontario Fire Marshal and Chair of the Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council, Jon Pegg, said fire departments focus their efforts on educating the public about the importance of having operational alarms in their homes.
"The Objective of the Safe Community Project Zero is to deliver these alarms to areas where they are needed the most," said Pegg. "It is a program that not only helps fire departments raise awareness about the legal requirement to have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed in all Ontario homes, but also reinforces the critical role they play in saving lives."
