An house fire early Thursday morning is an example of why a partnership announced Friday is incredibly important, says Thorold Fire Chief Terry Dixon.
A mother, two children, a cat and a dog escaped a blaze at their Hamilton Boulevard home unharmed because there were functional smoke alarms.
Cause and damage estimates were unknown Friday morning, but it was certain that their lives were saved because of a properly equipped living space, which firefighters responded to at about 2:30 a.m.
“Early detection saves lives,” said Dixon in an interview with ThoroldToday, also noting the home suffered significant smoke damage.
On Friday morning, at Fire Station 1 on McCleary Drive, there was a celebration of Thorold Fire and Emergency Services being the recipient of 234 combination smoke and and carbon monoxide alarms, made possible through Enbridge Gas Ontario’s Project Zero program.
The new devices will be distributed into the community through a program by the local government, and firefighters will be equipped with them in trucks to hand them out at calls.
Dixon said seniors and the low income population should be the first groups who are targeted when the city doles them out.
He said people shouldn’t have to choose between a couple of meals or a proper alarm.
“If you have to make a decision, that’s not fair,” said Dixon.
Local compliance statistics are difficult to calculate, but data does show that 63 per cent of Ontarians do not have proper detectors, an alarming figure, said Dixon.
Mayor Terry Ugulini also thanked Enbridge for its “great initiative” and also noted that starting in January, it will become law in Ontario that every floor of a home needs to have a carbon monoxide detector.
Julie Alexander, senior advisor of municipal and stakeholder engagement for Enbridge, said the cost of the two-in-one smoke and carbon monoxide alarms is about $80 apiece.
Other Niagara municipalities who are set to receive similar gestures through Project Zero include Fort Erie, Wainfleet, and Lincoln, said Alexander.
Enbridge also spearheads Project Assist, which provides funding to fire departments for training tools.
This year, Enbridge Gas invested $450,000 through Project Zero, and over the past 17 years, the program has provided more than 115,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.
Also praising the Project Zero program is the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council.
“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,” said chair Jon Pegg, in a news release about the announcement from the city.