Enbridge Gas is partnering with North Bay Fire and Emergency Services to reduce fire and carbon monoxide deaths through Safe Community Project Zero.
On Tuesday, Enbridge Gas Inc. and NBFES announced they are working together to improve home safety and to reduce fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero.
NBFES received 250 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through Safe Community Project Zero, a public education campaign with the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council (FMPFSC) that will provide more than 14,500 alarms to residents in 75 communities across Ontario.
This year, Enbridge Gas invested $450,000 in Safe Community Project Zero, and over the past 16 years, the program has provided more than 101,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.
When properly installed and maintained, combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms help provide the early warning to safely escape from a house fire or carbon monoxide exposure. Carbon monoxide is a toxic, odourless gas that is a by-product of incomplete combustion of many types of common fuels.
“The best way to reduce potential exposure to carbon monoxide is to properly maintain fuel-burning equipment,” says Jennifer Beam, an operations supervisor with Enbridge Gas North Bay. “These alarms are a critical second line of defence against carbon monoxide poisoning, known as ‘the silent killer.’ We’re proud to support our communities and raise awareness and help Ontarians implement these protection strategies.”
“Across Ontario there is a renewed focus on the importance of having working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home. The objective of Safe Community Project Zero is to deliver these alarms to areas where they are needed most,” says Acting Ontario Fire Marshal John McBeth, also the Acting Chair of the FMPFSC. “It’s a program that helps fire departments educate their communities about the requirements to have working smoke alarms installed in all Ontario homes and for all Ontario homes to have a carbon monoxide alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.”
See related: Property owner charged following Second Avenue West fire
In the video above, Deputy Fire Chief Greg Saunders refers to a Nov. 19 house fire that resulted in the property owner being charged due to the lack of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
"It's not reasonable in 2024, that residences and people in North Bay are not protected ... everybody should know by now that it's required by law. They should be in every home and everybody should have that level of protection," Saunders says.
