The Merritt Fire Rescue Department is reminding Merrittonians to check their fire alarm batteries, locations, and functionality as a part of their 2022 Fire Prevention Week activities. The local department looks to raise awareness and increase public safety by ensuring the proper use and placement of smoke detectors, which they say has changed in recent years. 

Smoke detectors are provincially mandated in all new buildings, according to the British Columbia Building Code. While existing buildings also require smoke detectors, they are often broken, without batteries, or unplugged for convenience. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 3 out of every 5 fire deaths are in homes without working smoke detectors. 

“The big thing is location. What the new standard is, and what we’d love to see in the community, is to have smoke detectors in every sleeping quarters and just outside every sleeping quarters in hallways and things like that,” said Gareth Tilt, firefighter and public education coordinator for the MFRD.

“You’re also supposed to have one on every level of the home, and that includes the basement. It really adds up to a lot more smoke detectors than what people used to think they needed. Back in the day, you’d see them with one in the kitchen and then maybe one on each floor.”

While the MFRD says interconnected combination alarms detecting both smoke and carbon monoxide are ideal, Tilt added that placement is the real key to ensuring your smoke detectors work properly and accurately. Smoke detectors should be tested monthly and have their batteries changed every six months, the same interval at which home fire escape plans should be practiced. 

While previous standards would have smoke detectors placed in the kitchen directly, updated guidelines take back this recommendation. Proper placement of smoke detectors, along with a number of other fire prevention methods and techniques, reduce the risk of house fires substantially. 

“The idea now is not to have them directly in the kitchen. You want to have them a little ways away from the stove to reduce false alarms. We don’t put any in bathrooms because steam from the shower can set them off,” added Tilt.

“We know that having closed doors gives an opportunity to reduce flow paths for fires and stop the spread of fires through homes, because you don’t have that flow that works its way through. The motto that fire departments will often repeat is the ‘close before you doze’ idea. Make sure your doors are closed, and you’ve got smoke detectors inside and just outside the room.”

For more information on smoke detectors, and other safety initiatives and programs by the MFRD, visit their website at www.merritt.ca/firerescue.