No smoke detectors found in over 2,000 homes checked in Brampton fire safety blitz

Firefighters checking smoke detectors in Brampton homes found more than a third of the more than 6,300 units had no working alarms.

The stats come ahead of Test Your Smoke Alarm Day this week and were recorded while Brampton Fire and Emergency Services firefighters went door-to-door across the city for a safety blitz.

Some 6,366 homes were visited during the 2024 Home Safe Home Program with firefighters finding 35 per cent did not have working smoke and carbon dioxide alarms, BFES says.

The numbers are up from last year’s safety drive that saw more than 4,000 homes visited. BFES performed more than 450 smoke and CO alarm inspections and installations and found more than 25 per cent of homes had no working smoke detectors – something Fire Marshal Jon Pegg called “terrifying trend.”

In March 2022, a young family of five died following a blaze on Conestoga Drive in Brampton. The Ontario Fire Marshal found no working smoke alarms inside the home following the fire.

Then in June 2023, a mother and her 3-year-old child died following a house fire where the Fire Marshal said there were no smoke alarms installed on the first floor or the basement level where the family resided.

More than half of fire fatalities in Brampton happen in homes with no working smoke detectors and City Council issued a proclamation on Wednesday calling on all residents to meet the ​Ontario Fire Code​ , which requires smoke alarms on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas.

Firefighters are taking part in the Saved By The Beep campaigns again following Ontario’s first-ever Test Your Smoke Alarm Day last year with a community event at the Cassie Campbell Community Centre.

There will also be plenty of events for fire prevention week in October with meet-and-greets with firefighters and fire hall tours.

You can learn more about smoke alarm and fire safety at the Test Your Smoke Alarm Day event this Saturday at the Cassie Campbell Community Centre from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Here are five tips from BFES to make sure your smoke alarms are in working order, and could help save a life:

• Replace batteries regularly. Change your batteries when you change your clocks in the spring and fall.
• If you think your smoke alarm is more than 10 years old, replace it. Smoke alarms don’t last forever. Check the manufacturer’s date to find out when they expire.
• Clean your smoke alarms regularly. Excessive dust can affect the alarm. Vacuum all alarms every six months and test your alarms when finished.
• Plan your escape. Make sure that everyone in your household is aware of the alarms, their sound and what to do next. Create an escape plan and practise it with the entire household.
• Renting a property? Have a conversation with your landlord about fire safety and your responsibilities.