The emotional scars are still there for Michael Bell.
“My memories are of just the pure alarm and the pure terror of being in a situation where you know you might die,” Bell said.
In June, 2007, he was one of seven people who had to flee as a fire destroyed three homes in Regina’s Cathedral neighbourhood.
The fire started at 2 a.m. on the main floor of his home. He could feel the heat through the floorboards, but the worst feeling was seeing how fast the fire grew, trapping him and his roommates.
“Smoke started charging into the room,” Bell explained. “At that point I just had to stay low. Then there was no escape and I had to jump out the third story window.”
Bell suffered a broken heel and some broken bones in his face, but he survived.
The Regina Fire Department said they are sent to a serious house fire every second day. In almost every case of a fire fatality, the smoke detector was not working.
“You have very, very little time to escape because it’s not the fire that gets you, it’s the smoke,” Angela Prawzick from the Fire Department said. “You have about three minutes to get out safely.”
Prawzick said if the fire takes place during the night, three minutes go by extremely fast. She said a working smoke detector will help save lives in those three minutes.
Smoke detectors were introduced in the 1970’s. During that decade Regina averaged seven fire fatalities each year. Now, homeowners are required to have smoke detectors by law — bringing the average down to one a year.
“Ultimately, we just want people to be safe,” Prawzick said. “Without a working smoke alarm, your chances and your family’s chances of getting out of your house safely and surviving that fire are next to nil.”
The homes have been rebuilt on Retallack Street, but the scars are still there. Bell wants everyone to remember there are simple ways to ensure lives are saved.
“Not only is it important to have a smoke alarm, but you should also have a little plan,” he said. “You should think through how you’re going to get out of a house.”
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