Did you check your smoke alarms last weekend?

Public Service Announcement

This past Sunday, we set our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time. The Kelowna Fire Department is reminding residents that this is also the perfect time to check your smoke alarms, change batteries (if applicable) and make sure there are an adequate number of smoke alarms in their homes. Many smoke alarms have a 10-year expiry date, and some don’t require batteries. Residents are encouraged to check the date & replace as required. Many become hypersensitive to dust or steam while others just cease working. Some have a battery backup while some are sealed.

“Smoke alarms save lives,” said Candace Friesen, Fire Inspector & Life Safety Education with the Kelowna Fire Department. “When you fall asleep, you lose your sense of smell. Smoke detectors can sense smoke particles well before you can, giving you and your family vital seconds to evacuate your home and call 911.”

By law, every home requires a working smoke alarm. Homes built after 1979 must have a hardwired smoke alarm while homes built prior to that date can utilize battery-operated smoke alarms. Even with all the available education regarding the importance of smoke alarms, many people still do not have them in their homes. This can be for financial reasons, a landlords’ lack of understanding of legal requirements, or residents simply being unaware of how vital smoke alarms are for saving lives and protecting property.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a house fire by more than half (54%) and notes that three out of five fire-related deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarm or a non-functioning alarm. To ensure that you and your home is safer, the British Columbia Office of the Fire Commissioner has partnered with the Kelowna Fire Department to ensure that as many residents as possible have a working smoke alarm.

If you are a resident of Kelowna and don’t currently have a smoke alarm in your home, you are invited to contact the Kelowna Fire Department to get a FREE battery-operated smoke alarm (maximum of one per household). Prior to receiving your smoke alarm, you will need to fill out a brief questionnaire  to confirm proof of residence and the area of your home in which the smoke alarm will be placed. Smoke alarms are available for pickup at Fire Station #1 (2255 Enterprise Way).

Let’s all work together to ensure that we’re all keeping our families and our communities safer by starting with fire safety at home. For more advice and tips on home fire safety, including how to check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms , visit the Kelowna Fire Department website at kelowna.ca/fire .

For more information on smoke detector distribution, contact:

Candace Friesen

Fire Inspector & Life Safety Educator

250-862-0419