Fire Chiefs Call for Phase – Out of Non-Hush Smoke Alarms as Part of Fire Prevention Week Oct. 7 - 13

OTTAWA, October 9, 2007 – The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) is calling on manufacturers and hardware retailers to phase out non-hush smoke alarms in favor of newer technology “hush” alarms that feature a silencing mechanism.

“Despite repeated warnings and prohibitions in provincial and national building and fire codes, Canadians continue to disarm their home smoke alarms in an attempt to silence nuisance alarms caused by cooking or steam,” said CAFC President Patrick Burke, Fire Marshal of Ontario. “Lives continue to be lost in homes where residents have removed the batteries from their alarms, or removed the alarms altogether, because of nuisance alarms.  “Disabling smoke alarms leaves your home vulnerable in a real fire emergency,” said Burke.

CAFC is recommending that only smoke alarms with a “hush” feature be installed on every storey of the home.  These devices have a button, that, when pressed, will temporarily silence the alarm for 7 to 10 minutes, and then automatically reset itself.  In the event of a real fire emergency in this timeframe, the alarm will still sound.

“CAFC has written to manufacturers and retailers requesting that smoke alarms without the hush feature be phased out in favour of the hush type alarm that allows people to silence an alarm temporarily, while still providing a warning in the event of a real fire,” said CAFC President Burke.

The decision to enlist the support of manufacturers and retailers was made at the September 23 -25, 2007 annual meeting of the CAFC in Niagara Falls, Ontario. “We thought that National Fire Prevention Week, October 7 – 13 would be an appropriate time to launch our drive to persuade Canadians to acquire only “hush” – type alarms, and to eliminate the availability of non hush devices,” added Fire Marshal Burke.

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Information:

Ontario Fire Marshal Patrick Burke
President, Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs
Phone: 416-325-3090
Cell: 416-435-6134

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