At the corner of Somerset West and Booth streets, a vacant lot covered by dirt sits beside a brick building stained with ash – the site of a 2005 fire that killed five people. Although the deadly blaze happened eight years ago, it established an annual program performed by Ottawa Fire Services called the WakeUP Campaign, where firefighters go door to door, encouraging residents to install, test and ensure their smoke alarms are operating properly.
“We try to concentrate on more vulnerable communities – low-income, student housing, or older homes,” says Marc Messier, public information officer for Ottawa Fire Services.
Centretown falls into this category. Home to three of the busier fire stations in Ottawa, Centretown – or “district one,” according to Sean A. Tracey, OFS assistant deputy chief responsible for education and safety – says the area is considered a “hot zone,” a community with recurring fires.
“Ontario Fire Code requires homes to have one working smoke alarm on each floor,” says Messier. “We will not leave any home without a working smoke alarm.”
The WakeUP activity summary for 2012 shows that 17 per cent of the homes firefighters entered either needed a new smoke alarm or fresh batteries. Of those houses, stations in district one visited 837 homes in Centretown, where 17 needed smoke alarms and 12 needed new batteries.
According to Messier, a fire alarm’s life expectancy is 10 years and that after a decade has elapsed, it should be replaced – even with fresh batteries.
However, whether or not the firefighters enter a home is up to the homeowner.
“If you want, we will come in and do a quick inspection,” says Tracey. Firefighters entered 43 per cent of the homes they visited in 2012.
The WakeUP Campaign has a new format, bringing firefighters door to door to communities twice a year, instead of just once. Making their first round in June, phase two was completed between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6.
Tracey believes this new format was very successful as more people were home to let firefighters inside. The OFS already knocked on more than 7,000 homes doors in June, says Tracey and the goal for the fall visit was 8,000 homes.
“If they’re not home, we leave information about the importance of checking smoke detectors and how to do so, on their doors,” says Tracey.
However, residents of apartment buildings will not be receiving a knock on their door.
“There is a different program for buildings throughout Ottawa,” says Tracey.
Laurene Wagner, executive director of tenant services for Ottawa Community Housing, says, “we have a long-term, really excellent relationship with Ottawa Fire Services.”
With more than 15,000 homes and 32,000 tenants, Ottawa Community Housing sends a contractor and staff member to go into each home, every year, to make sure there is a working smoke detector. Ottawa Community Housing has 17 buildings within Centretown. Other buildings, not associated with Ottawa Community Housing, are also visited by OFS to ensure their buildings are up to code.
“Ottawa has been consistently well below the provincial averages of fire-related deaths and we like to think it is because of our prevention activities,” says Tracey.
Other community services have been highlighting the importance of compliant smoke detectors in hopes of keeping this a citywide low.
“We try to remind people that smoke alarms wear out, and should be tested once a month,” says Patrick Folliott, webmaster for the Safe At Home website.
“A lot of people are aware that smoke detectors are important, but forget to check them – it’s one of those situations where they think nothing bad will happen to them,” says Folliott. “But a fire spreads within seconds. We try to emphasize that you don’t want to wait to find out.”