Nelson Fire Rescue stages smoke alarm blitz
By Nelson Daily Staff
In an effort to raise the awareness of the importance of smoke alarms, Nelson Fire Rescue Services recently conducted a door-to-door blitz of almost 70 homes in the Heritage City Wednesday evening.
In a media release, Nelson Fire & Rescue said some of the department’s career and auxiliary firefighter staff attended homes to make sure smoke alarms were working properly.
“It’s simple, Smoke Alarms Save Lives and the goal is to make the homes we visited safer by ensuring there is at least one working smoke alarm on each level of the home and that the alarms aren’t more than 10 years-old,” said Nelson Fire Chief Len MacCharles.
“Last evening we made a number of homes safer.”
Nelson Fire Rescue said most homes had at least one working smoke alarm – but some didn’t have any that were working.
Nelson Fire Rescue appreciate the support of Maglio’s Building Center, who donated smoke alarms and batteries to the program, Fire Rescue staff was able to install 30 new alarms and replace batteries in other alarms where needed.
Nelson Fire & Rescue Services conducts this public service twice a year but will attend individual residences to test alarms if requested.
Residents can contact the Fire Hall at (250) 352-3103 for further assistance.
The department says smoke alarms should be:
- On every level of the home
- Tested monthly
- Located just outside bedrooms
- Not more than 10 years old
- Have batteries replaced twice yearly when clocks are changed
- Vacuumed to maintain effectiveness and to reduce false alarms
