Enbridge Gas, the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council and the Township of Chatsworth Fire Department announced they are working to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide related deaths down to zero.

The Township of Chatsworth Fire Department received 126 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through Safe Community Project Zero–a public education campaign that will provide over 16,600 alarms to residents in 70 municipalities across Ontario.

This year, Enbridge Gas invested $500,000 in Safe Community Project Zero, and over the past 13 years, the program has provided more than 68,000 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.

“Carbon monoxide is known as the ‘silent killer’ for a reason, and we have proof that prevention saves lives. We know that the best way to avoid carbon monoxide exposure is to eliminate it at the source by properly maintaining fuel-burning equipment, and that the alarms are a critical second line of defense to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning,” says Murray Costello, Director, Southeast Region Operations, Enbridge Gas.

“The objective of Safe Community Project Zero is to deliver combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to Ontario communities who need them the most,” says Jon Pegg, Ontario Fire Marshal and Chair of the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council. “It’s a program that fire departments can adopt to help educate their communities about the requirement for all Ontario homes to have a CO alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.”

“The Township of Chatsworth Fire Department would like to thank Enbridge and the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council for the opportunity to collaborate on this very valuable initiative,” says Fire Chief Mike Givens. “The distribution of these alarms to residents who are most at risk will help improve the level of home safety within our community. The early warning that these alarms provide will help keep our residents safe in a fire or carbon monoxide emergency.

source: media release, Chatsworth Fire Department