Oshawa Fire Services (OFS) yesterday said two homeowners have been fined $10,000 after a fire in their house.
“As a result of smoke and CO alarm violations after a house fire in March 2022, both owners were found guilty with combined fines totaling over $10,000,” said the fire service.
It said one way to avoid fines like this was to ensure you have working and current smoke and CO alarms in your home.
It’s the law
The Ontario Fire Code makes it mandatory to have working smoke alarms in every home, on every level, and outside all sleeping areas. This applies to all single-family, semi-detached and townhomes, whether owner-occupied or rented.
It is the responsibility of homeowners to install and maintain smoke alarms. It is the responsibility of landlords to ensure their rental properties comply with the law.
Failure to comply with the Fire Code smoke alarm requirements could result in a ticket for $360 or a fine of up to $50,000 for individuals or $100,000 for corporations.
A working smoke alarm can save lives in the event of a fire in your home, said Oshawa Fire Services.
Did you know that 90 per cent of residential fires are preventable? In Oshawa, from 2009 to 2012, only 39 per cent of buildings where fires occurred had working smoke alarms. Out of those fires:
- 15 per cent of buildings where a fire occurred had smoke alarms that did not operate
- 19 per cent of buildings where a fire occurred, no smoke alarm was present
OFS Tips
- To make sure that the batteries are always fresh, change the battery in your smoke alarm when you change your clock in the spring and fall.
- To ensure your smoke alarm is working, test it once a month by pushing the test button. If you think your smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, replace them with new ones.
- Make sure everyone in the household knows what to do if the smoke alarm sounds. Develop a home fire escape plan and practice it with the entire household.
- Install smoke alarms on every storey of your home, including the basement.
- Follow every step of the manufacturer’s directions when you install your smoke alarms
- Follow directions for testing and cleaning them
- Never ‘borrow’ batteries from your smoke alarm for another device
- Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old
Nuisance alarms
If you have problems with nuisance alarms, try relocating them or buying an alarm with a hush feature to silence the alarm temporarily
If your smoke alarm goes off when cooking or showering, do not remove the battery. There are solutions to deal with the problem, that include:
- Keep stove and burners clean
- Adjust the timer setting on the toaster
- Use the range hood fan when cooking
- Turn on the bathroom fans while taking a shower
- Install smoke alarms with the hush button that will temporarily silence the alarm. The smoke alarm will re-set itself after several minutes
- Move smoke alarms that are too close to the kitchen or bathrooms to a different location
- Try replacing ionization smoke alarms near the kitchen and bathrooms with photoelectric smoke alarms
- Replace smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old
OFS says avoid putting smoke alarms close to bathrooms, windows, ceiling fans and heating and cooking appliances.