A working fire alarm can mean the difference between life and death.
That's why this year's theme for Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 6-12, is the importance of having working alarms and how to ensure they are working, said the City of Victoria on its website.
Three simple actions will ensure your smoke alarms are working, according to the city. First, they recommend installing smoke alarms in every sleeping area and on every floor.
Neal Widdifield, assistant chief for Fire Rescue Services in Esquimalt, said it's good to have fire alarms in each room, but "especially in bedrooms."
While fire alarms near kitchens, especially in a condo or apartment common spaces, can cause frustrations since the alarm can go off frequently, it's important to keep them operating, he added.
"Kitchens are a major cause of fire. We've had a few in the last few years," Widdifield said. "And whether it's an unoccupied pot on the stove that burns through or it's something that gets out of hand and it gets up into the ventilation, a lot of the time it's preventable."
Another common cause of fire in winter is heaters or candles, due to potentially igniting nearby items such as curtains, Widdifield added.
For step two, the City of Victoria recommends testing smoke alarms once a month and replacing them after 10 years or when they don't respond when tested.
Widdifield recommends changing batteries annually and using a special occasion, such as one's birthday, to help remember, or changing the batteries every time you change your clocks. This helps ensure people are not "without when they need them," Widdifield said.
Free smoke alarms are offered through the Victoria Fire Department to ensure every home has a working one. Residents can also arrange for a free home visit by a fire prevention officer who can determine the best locations and test existing ones. Smoke alarm visits can be booked via the Victoria Fire Department at 250-920-3360 or email vfd@victoria.ca.
Because smoke rises, fire alarms can alert someone of the danger of a fire much more quickly than without, Widdifield said. It can be "too late" once smoke fills a room as smoke can quickly irritate the lungs, eyes and nose and make escape much harder.
In 2022, the B.C. Fire Commissioner's Office reported that residential fires accounted for nearly 89 per cent of fire-related injuries in the province. A home fire safety checklist can be found online at victoria.ca/media/file/home-fire-safety-checklist.
In the workplace, employers are primarily responsible for fire safety, says Fire-Alert. This means keeping all fire equipment operational, installing adequate fire-prevention systems and ensuring employees receive proper training on fire prevention.
Employees are responsible for following procedures, using safety equipment properly and alerting officials to potential hazards.
The Fire Safety Act, new legislation which replaced the previous Fire Services Act, announced Aug. 1 by the City of Victoria, introduced enhanced monitoring to identify higher-risk buildings and a penalty system to incentivize owner compliance with fire-safety legislation and the BC Fire and BC Building Codes, among other enforcement tools.
"Larger organizations, for instance, our municipality, annually we have someone that comes in and checks all our smoke alarms and fire extinguishers," said Widdifield.
