Enbridge Gas and the Nairn/Hyman Fire Department are working together to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero.
Luke Skaarup, the director of Northern Region Operations for Enbridge Gas says last week, the Nairn & Hyman Fire Department received 72 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms through Project Zero.
He says carbon monoxide is known as the ‘silent killer’ for a reason, and they have proof that prevention saves lives by avoiding carbon monoxide exposure.
He says the alarms are a critical second line of defence to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning.
Project Zero, a public education campaign, will provide 7,500 alarms to residents in 35 municipalities across Ontario.
Fire Chief Richard Austin thanks the utility for the donation adding everyone needs to have working alarms in their homes.
He says when professionally installed and maintained, combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms help provide the early warning to safely escape from a house fire or carbon monoxide exposure.
Austin adds carbon monoxide is a toxic, odourless gas that is a by-product of incomplete combustion of many types of common fuels.
The donation was made last week.
“The objective of Project Zero is to deliver combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to Ontario communities who need them the most,” says Jon Pegg, Ontario Fire Marshal. “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.”
“Smoke alarms save lives,” adds Austin. “In light of a fire in one of our elderly homes in the municipality in March of 2020, it was proven that if a smoke alarm were not present, the outcome could have been tragic. Everyone needs to have working alarms in their home for the early warning needed to safely escape a house fire or exposure to carbon monoxide.”
The Nairn/Hyman Fire Department is a volunteer department that covers two townships. With two stations and 18 volunteers, the department provides protection to its community in the way of medical calls, auto-extrication, and fire. For a small municipality, the Nairn/ Hyman Fire Department is fortunate to operate with up-to-date equipment and vehicles.
Enbridge Gas, formed on Jan. 1, 2019 from the amalgamation of Union Gas and Enbridge Gas Distribution, is Canada’s largest natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario. Enbridge Gas is owned by Enbridge, a Canadian-based leader in energy transportation and distribution.
For more information on, visit www.enbridgegas.com or follow us on Twitter @EnbridgeGas.
