CALGARY – The Calgary Fire Department is focusing on the importance of smoke detectors for Fire Prevention Week.
Firefighters gathered at the city’s southeast training academy on Friday to launch their 2014 Fire Prevention Week video.
In the recording, which can be seen on YouTube, a family rushes from their home after being alerted to a fire by the beeping of a smoke detector.
WATCH: Smoke alarms save lives video from the Calgary Fire Department
“Families have only minutes to escape from a house fire,” says Calgary Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc. “Our video shows how quick and easy it is, and we know that it does save lives.”
In 2013, the Calgary Fire Department responded to more than 15,000 fires. Of those fires, 23 per cent were residential fires in homes without smoke alarms.
“Albertans need to be proactive in preventing fires to protect their families and keep their communities safe,” says Alberta Fire Commissioner Trent West. “Keep your loved ones out of harm’s way by having a working smoke alarm in your home and check it monthly.”
Fire Prevention Week has been around since 1919, when it was launched nation-wide to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, as well as a major fire that destroyed the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa on February 3, 1916.
Calgary’s 2014 Fire Prevention Week kicks off on Monday and wraps up on Saturday, October 11th, 2014.
This year’s theme is “working smoke alarms save lives.”
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