Video – 550 Smoke and CO Alarms Headed to Northumberland Homes in $60,000 Fire-Safety Donation

Pete Fisher
3 weeks ago
• Categories: Local, News

A donation of 550 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms valued at close to $60,000 is headed to homes across Northumberland County, giving local fire departments another tool to help protect residents from two of the most dangerous threats inside a home.

The alarms were presented Saturday, September 26, during Brighton Applefest, with all seven municipalities in Northumberland County set to receive alarms for distribution through local fire prevention programs.

The donation came from KIDDE Canada through the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council.

Trent Hills Fire Prevention Officer Brian Buchanan said the alarms will be distributed among all seven municipalities.

“CO 10-year sealed alarms have been given to Northumberland County Fire Departments this year, which is an incredible donation,” Buchanan said.

“These combination alarms will each go out to all seven municipalities across the county and we can’t be any happier.”

Buchanan thanked Jamie Kovacs of the Fire Marshal’s Public Safety Council and KIDDE Canada for making the donation possible.

He also recognized Brighton Fire Chief Gene Thompson and the Brighton Fire Department for hosting the event.

The need for working alarms is particularly important as modern residential fires can become deadly in a matter of minutes.

“Smoke alarms are a lifeline for everyone in their homes,” Buchanan said. “Fires today burn quicker, hotter, and faster, with flashover occurring in less than three minutes.”

“That means you have to be outside and in a safe spot.”

Buchanan said a recent door-to-door campaign in Trent Hills demonstrated just how significant the need remains.

“We had two students go around all summer and they knocked on 1,100 homes.”

“They got into over 400 homes and almost 60% of those homes were not in compliance with the fire code.”

That experience, he said, demonstrates why donations such as the KIDDE alarms are so important.

‘Only as good as our partnerships’

Brighton Mayor Brian Ostrander welcomed the donation and praised the local fire departments for working together across municipal boundaries.

But Ostrander said the success of fire prevention depends on cooperation between municipalities and agencies.

“I want to give a shout out to the fire prevention committee across Northumberland.”

Ostrander pointed out that representatives from every fire department in the county were present for the event.

He also thanked the Office of the Fire Marshal for participating, including Deputy Fire Marshal Bryan Burbidge.

‘The value of this is priceless’

Northumberland County Warden Bob Crate said the donation is another example of local fire departments working together to keep residents safe.

“I’m very proud of Northumberland County and their fire departments,” Crate said.

“We have a group that works hard together to make sure that our residents are safe.”

Crate said fire prevention extends beyond responding to emergencies.

“I know in Trent Hills our guys go out to visit people to make sure that they are safe,” he said.

Deputy Fire Marshal of Ontario Bryan Burbidge emphasized the scale of the KIDDE donation.

“Today we are here recognizing a donation of 550 combination smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms for Northumberland County and the Fire Prevention Officers Association as well as the chiefs,” Burbidge said.

Burbidge thanked KIDDE Canada for the donation.

“To KIDDE, thank you very much for this generous donation,” he said.

“The value of this is priceless,” Burbidge said.

“There’s 550 combination alarms that are going to be probably as of this week or this month or very shortly after this event today adorning the ceilings of homes in Northumberland County.”

The alarms could provide residents with precious additional time to escape a fire or carbon monoxide emergency.

“And there’s going to be that extra chance for those people of being notified early and making it out of the home by the working alarm,” Burbidge said.

“To KIDDE, to the Fire Marshal’s Public Safety Council representatives that are here today to make this event happen and make this donation happen, we are indebted to you.”

One alarm made the difference

For Jamie Kovacs, Executive Director of the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council, the donation represents much more than 550 pieces of equipment.

Kovacs is also a volunteer firefighter and said there is a particular moment that firefighters experience when they arrive at a home and realize a family may not have the resources to purchase a working alarm.

“I can tell you nothing feels better, two in the morning, when you show up at somebody’s house and you can see that they don’t have working alarms and they might be struggling just to pay the bills and buy groceries.”

The ability to simply provide an alarm can make an enormous difference.

“To be able to take an alarm out of your truck, twist it, activate it, and leave it with that family and know that they’re protected,” Kovacs said.

He recalled one particular carbon monoxide call that demonstrated just how important those alarms can be.

“It was a CO call. We left an alarm with a family that was visibly struggling,” he said.

Three months later, the woman returned to the fire station.

“She came to the fire station and said to me, ‘We had a leak. The alarm went off that you left me.’”

Fire inspectors subsequently found a problem with the family’s fireplace.

“The inspectors came in, found a leak in our fireplace and said that if it wasn’t for that alarm, they might not have woken up,” Kovacs said.

For Kovacs, that story explains why corporate donations like the KIDDE contribution matter.

“So, I thank corporations like KIDDE for stepping up and making a difference to 550 families right through Northumberland,” he said.

“I think it’s something to brag about.”

Kovacs also credited Buchanan for bringing the initiative to Northumberland County.

“I want to thank Brian Buchanan especially. He reached out to me almost a year ago and wanted to bring this to Northumberland,” he said.

‘We’re not going to shut up’

The fire prevention message did not end with the presentation.

Kovacs urged residents to make sure their own homes, and the homes of their family and friends, are protected.

“So, we need more people to step up,” he said.

“Talk to your friends. Make sure your family, everybody’s protected with working smoke and CO alarms.”

Ultimately, Kovacs said, firefighters would like to reach a point where they no longer have to keep delivering the same warning.

“One day as a fire service, we’d like to stop talking about it,” he said. “We’d like to move on to something else.”

But until that happens, the message will continue.

“But with 60% of the homes in this area not having working alarms, we’re not going to shut up,” Kovacs said.

“So, these alarms are going to help.”

For fire officials across Northumberland County, the 550 alarms represent more than a donation. Each one could mean an early warning, a faster escape and, potentially, a family getting another chance to walk out of a burning or carbon-monoxide-filled home alive.

And for the firefighters delivering them, that is the point of fire prevention.

Note: September 28 is test your smoke alarm day. What is Test Your Smoke Alarm Day? It’s a province-wide event reminding everyone to test their smoke alarms. One simple beep could make all the difference. The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) set out to create a province-wide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of working smoke alarms. The result? Test Your Smoke Alarm Day and the “Saved By The Beep!” public education campaign every September 28th.