Kelowna

The Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) and the Kelowna Fire Department are pleased to declare March as “Smoke Alarm Awareness Month.”

“We are delighted to announce OMREB’s partnership with the Kelowna Fire Department to launch a collaborative public safety effort between REALTORS®, fire fighters and home owners,” says OMREB’s incoming President Karen Singbeil. 

 

“Working to promote the importance of functioning smoke alarms to help keep families safe in case of fire in their homes is a worthwhile community endeavor.”

With support from a number of provincial and local agencies, the BC Fire Chiefs ’Association has launched a smoke alarm campaign with the goal to reduce the loss of life due to fire.   Many fire services in the province have initiated various programs throughout the year to get this message out – engaging a number of industries with the hope that the initiative eventually becomes a provincial level program. 

”The Kelowna Fire Department is grateful to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board and its membership for partnering with us and assisting fire safety personnel in educating the public about smoke alarms,” says Kelowna’s Deputy Fire Chief, Thomas Doherty. 

While the pilot campaign focuses on Kelowna, the partners hope that it can expand to West Kelowna and other communities in the Central Okanagan through partnerships with their local Fire Departments, and eventually roll out Board-wide to include the North Okanagan and Shuswap.

Download a copy of How to Stay Safe, a brochure produced by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.

Smoke Alarm Tips

• Install one smoke alarm per floor and outside sleeping areas in your home – or inside each bedroom if your loved ones sleep with doors closed.  The new 2012 BC Building Code requires a smoke alarm be installed in each bedroom as well for any new construction.
• Never take down an alarm or remove batteries to silence a nuisance alarm caused by cooking or shower steam.
• Install smoke alarms with a “hush” button – simply push button to stay safe while you clear the air.