Enbridge Gas Partners with Tecumseh Fire to Mitigate Fire, Carbon Monoxide Fatalities

Tecumseh Reporter

Enbridge Gas Inc. (Enbridge Gas), the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council (FMPFSC), and Tecumseh Fire & Rescue Service have joined forces to enhance home safety and strive for a reduction in fire and carbon monoxide-related fatalities to zero.
Tecumseh Fire & Rescue has acquired 234 combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms as part of the Safe Community Project Zero. This public education initiative aims to distribute over 10,000 alarms to residents across 50 municipalities in Ontario.
Enbridge Gas has invested $315,000 in Safe Community Project Zero this year. Over the past 15 years, the programme has supplied more than 86,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.
When appropriately installed and maintained, combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms play a pivotal role in providing early warnings for both house fires and carbon monoxide exposure. Carbon monoxide, a toxic and odourless gas, is a by-product of incomplete combustion of common fuels.
Angela Scott, Manager Southwest Operations, Windsor/Essex-Chatham Kent, Enbridge Gas, emphasises, “Properly maintaining fuel-burning equipment is the best way to reduce potential exposure to carbon monoxide, and an alarm is a critical second line of defence for protection. When we implement these strategies together, we protect our loved ones from carbon monoxide poisoning, also known as the silent killer.”
Jon Pegg, Ontario Fire Marshal and Chair of the FMPFSC, notes a renewed focus across Ontario on the importance of having functional smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in homes. Safe Community Project Zero’s objective is to deliver these alarms to areas where they are most needed. Pegg states, “It’s a programme that fire departments can adopt to help educate their communities about the requirement for all Ontario homes to have a carbon monoxide alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.”
Tecumseh Fire Chief Wade Bondy expresses gratitude to Enbridge Gas and the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council for facilitating the programme. He acknowledges the life-saving potential of working smoke and CO alarms, noting that this donation will enhance access to alarms for those in the community who need them.
Tecumseh Fire Rescue Service provides emergency responses, including firefighting, rescue, emergency medical intervention (including defibrillation), vehicle extrication, and shore-based water rescue. The department serves a population of approximately 24,000, providing fire and emergency medical coverage to a 95 square kilometer area and responds to approximately 400 calls per year.