Firefighters from Vernon Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) will donate their time to go door-to-door at the Vernon Mobile Home Park to encourage residents to test their smoke alarms and replace their batteries this Saturday, November 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The firefighters will also replace old smoke alarms or install a new one if the resident doesn’t have one. All testing and installation will be done at no cost to homeowners.
The smoke alarm program was launched in 2012 in the Big Chief Mobile Home Park when VFRS checked 140 smoke alarms and replaced over a dozen expired or non-functioning smoke alarms. The campaign is part of the Fire Chiefs Association of B.C. goal of having a working smoke alarm in every home in the province.
“Almost 70 per cent of houses that caught fire in B.C. didn’t have a functioning smoke alarm,” said VFRS Chief Keith Green. “Children and the elderly face the highest risk of dying in a residential fire. We want to do our part to eliminate that risk.”
Working smoke alarms could reduce annual fire deaths in B.C. by as much as 32 per cent. Research reveals a causal link between working smoke alarms and reduced fatalities from residential structure fires. Fire damage was reduced by 19 per cent when a working smoke alarm was present.
The smoke alarms are donated by Silver Star Rotary Club of Vernon, Okanagan Restoration and Johnston Meier Insurance Agencies Group.