A wave of fatal fires has swept across Ontario since the new year rang in, prompting fire officials to urge residents to check their smoke alarms and practice their fire escape plans.
There have been six deaths in Ontario since Jan. 1, and Peterborough Fire Services Chief Chris Snetsinger says the number is unacceptable.
On Jan. 2, four people, including two children, perished in a fire in Oshawa. One person died Jan. 1 in a Tottenham fire that also injured two people, and another man was killed in an apartment fire in Belleville on Jan. 7.
The cause of all the fires is still under investigation. But officials say that there were no working smoke alarms in the Oshawa building.
“A lot of places haven’t had working smoke alarms,” Snetsinger said, “and such a small device, it’s inexpensive. It’s a lifesaving device.”
Peterborough Fire Services has joined a social media campaign which encourages residents to post pictures of them checking their smoke alarms, using the hashtag, #MySmokeAlarmWorks.
Snetsinger says it isn’t enough to have a smoke alarm in your home.
“Time and time again, we will say it’s one thing to have a smoke alarm on your ceiling, it’s another thing to test it and make sure it’s working, and with that goes a home escape plan that gets you outside — you get out, you stay out, you call 911,” he said.