By Cecilia Nasmith

Cramahe Township announces a partnership aimed at improving home safety by bringing fire- and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero.

The partnership involves the Cramahe Township Fire Department, Enbridge Gas and the Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council, and it has resulted in the fire department receiving 126 combination smoke-and-carbon-monoxide alarms through Safe Community Project Zero – a public-education campaign that is providing more than 16,600 alarms to residents in 70 Ontario municipalities.

Enbridge is investing $500,000 in Safe Community Project Zero, the announcement said. And over the past 13 years, the program has provided more than 68,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.

When properly installed, these alarms help provide the early warning that will allow a safe escape from a house fire or an exposure to carbon monoxide, a toxic odourless gas that is a byproduct of incomplete combustion of many types of common fuels.

It is called the silent killer for a reason, Enbridge Director of Eastern Region Operations and Gazifere Operations Jean-Benoit Trahan said in the press release.

“We have proof that prevention save lives,” Trahan added.

“We know that the best way to avoid carbon monoxide exposure is to eliminate it at the source by properly maintaining fuel-burning equipment, and that the alarms are a critical second line of defense to protect against carbon-monoxide poisoning.”

Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg – Chair of the Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council – said Safe Community Project Zero aims to deliver these alarms to Ontario communities that need them most.

“It's a program that fire departments can adopt to help educate their communities about the requirement for all Ontario homes to have a CO alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage,” Pegg stated.

Cramahe Township Fire Chief Mark MacDonald said the 126 alarms they have received will be distributed throughout the community.

“Although all of our residents won't be able to receive an alarm during this campaign, we want to stress the importance of having a functioning CO alarm in your home,” MacDonald said.