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Barrie Fire and other forces team up to promote importance of working smoke alarms

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A campaign has launched in Barrie to raise awareness about the importance of working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Barrie Fire, Enbridge Gas and the Fire Marshal's Public Safety Council have teamed up for the Safe Community Project Zero campaign, where 16,600 alarms will be provided to residents in 70 municipalities across Ontario.

The goal of the campaign is to reduce fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths to zero.

"The numbers show that the largest number of fatal fires occur because there were not any working smoke alarms in the home," says Carrie Clark, Barrie Fire Deputy Chief.

The annual public education campaign has provided more than 68,000 alarms to fire departments across the province.

Barrie has received over 300 smoke and carbon monoxide combination alarms through Project Zero.

Clark says that smoke alarms should be treated with the same level of importance as working pipes in the home.

"This device is the guardian angel which will give you the valuable seconds it takes to get out of your home in the event of a fire," Clark says. "This is what's going to save your life."

The alarms will be provided to anyone in financial distress or if fire crews notice that there isn't a working alarm.

"Sometimes quite often unfortunately, smoke alarm safety is not on the list between food and rent and other important things," Clark says. "So we want to make sure that those people have the best opportunity to have a safe home, like everyone," she says.

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should be working on every level of a residence where people sleep. There should be a working smoke alarm on every level in the home, and homes built after 2015 must have them in every room. Tenants must ensure they have working alarms and alert landlords if they don't.

Officials add that it is important to clear all vents where clean air enters furnaces and dryer vents to make sure carbon monoxide doesn't build up over time.

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