Greater Sudbury Residents Encouraged to Test Their Smoke Alarms

Greater Sudbury Fire Services are calling on all residents to test their smoke alarms on September 28, as part of Test Your Smoke Alarm Day. 

“Being prepared in the event of a fire begins with simply pressing the test button on your smoke alarms,” said Joe Nicholls, General Manager of Community Safety and Chief of Fire and Paramedic Services. “Test smoke alarms at least once a month, refresh batteries at least once a year and replace smoke alarms after 10 years. Having working smoke alarms in your home can save lives.”

Last year in Ontario, there were 133 fire-related deaths – the highest number in over 20 years. 

“In Ontario, we’ve seen a significant rise in fatal fires, and the number of people we have lost in these fires is very concerning,” said Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg. “Entire families have been lost to fire and the most troubling part is that the majority of these fires did not have a working smoke alarm in the home. Had there been working smoke alarms, and a well thought out and practised home fire escape plan, these deaths may have been prevented.”

Only working smoke alarms will alert you to a fire and give you and your loved ones enough time to escape safely.

The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM), with the support of fire services and fire safety partners across Ontario, is asking Ontarians to regularly test their smoke alarms, with a challenge to test all smoke alarms in their residence on September 28. 

For more information, visit www.savedbythebeep.ca.

Quick Facts:
•    Smoke alarms have been legally required to be installed on every storey of a residence in Ontario since 2006.
•    Residences include vacation homes, cabins, trailers, RVs and cottages.
•    Landlords must test alarms annually, after the battery is replaced, and after every change in tenancy. Renters must notify their landlord as soon as they become aware that a smoke alarm is not operating.