Blackpool Fire Rescue is highlighting the importance of having working smoke detectors in your home, following a response to a property earlier this spring.
On April 30, at 4:39 am, Blackpool Fire Rescue was called to a structure fire in a unit of a mobile home park within the department’s response area. Five occupants were awoken by the active smoke detector alarm, triggered by smoky conditions developing in the home. Fortunately, the people in the home were able to evacuate and call 9-1-1.
Fire crews arrived to find a small fire under the rear of a newer addition on the back of the unit, which was quickly extinguished. Fire crew members found a wire that had been nicked by a nail and shorted during construction of the addition to the home.
“The people in the home were very grateful to have had a working smoke alarm and were equally grateful for the Blackpool Fire Rescue and its members for having installed the smoke alarm,” said Blackpool Fire Chief Mike Savage. “The smoke alarm not only saved them; it saved their home.”
In the fall of 2020, Blackpool Fire Rescue provide combination smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to every home within their fire protection area that did not have a functioning smoke alarm, as a measure to enhance public safety. Fire crews assisted with installation of the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, which included the mobile home park where the recent structure fire took place.
“Our smoke alarm checks in 2020 revealed that in one area, 50 per cent of units had no smoke alarms and 50 per cent had no carbon monoxide detectors. It was also noted that 25 homes in this area had smoke alarms with dead batteries,” Savage said. “Fortunately, in this instance, no one was hurt. Unfortunately, that may not have been the case if there had not been a functioning smoke alarm.”
Savage added that this situation illustrates the importance of working smoke alarms, as well as having properly installed and inspected wiring. “Working smoke alarms remain the most effective measure for preventing fire injuries and death. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors save lives.”
Cache Creek Fire Chief Tom Moe says that in the past, members of the Cache Creek Volunteer Fire Department have gone door-to-door handing out batteries for smoke detectors, and that during one Fire Prevention Week they were able to give people smoke detectors courtesy of the Ashcroft and District Lions Club.
While the department found that 90 per cent of the households they went to had smoke detectors, not everyone does. He recalls one structure fire in Cache Creek several years ago where one person died.
“There was no smoke detector, and they would have had a better chance [of surviving] if there had been one. It’s especially important if you’re in a mobile home. They have three minutes before they’re fully engulfed, so there’s not a lot of time to get out.”
Moe advises having at least one smoke detector on each level of your house. “The more the better. It’s a good idea to have one in the bedroom where the adults or parents are, because they’re the ones who are going to wake up if they hear the alarm.
“And you should change the batteries every six months on all types of detectors. Every time you change the clocks forward or back, change the batteries.”
He also recommends having a carbon monoxide detector in your house as well.
“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. My detector is just outside the bedroom door, because I want to be able to hear it if it goes off.”
