Tuesday marks the start of a fire safety campaign put on by the Howick Fire Department.
"The Alarmed For Life program was developed by the Office of the Fire Marshall, and it's made to assist fire departments in getting out in their communities, ensuring everyone has smoke alarms to protect their homes," says Fire Chief Shawn Edwards.
The initiative will run every Tuesday evening in May, June, September and October, and it's a three-year program.
Chief Edwards says they will start with Fordwich and slowly move into the rest of the municipality.
"The firefighters will show up and identify themselves and offer to come into their home and give them a free home inspection, looking for the required number of working smoke alarms in their homes," he says. "If they don't have the required number or some of them are not working or out of date, we will offer to replace them free of charge."
It's expected to be a three-year project, with Gorrie, Wroxeter and surrounding areas to follow when Fordwich is completed.
Edwards notes that since 1975, it's been the law to have one working smoke alarm on every level of the home and outside all sleeping areas.
The chief adds Alarmed For Life! could not happen without the generous support of Howick Mutual Insurance, Howick Optimist Club, Howick Women’s Institute, the Howick Firefighters Association and Watson’s Home Hardware.
