'We are not fooling around': Local fire department charging smoke detector violators
The chief of the St. Marys Fire Department is through with warnings about smoke detectors.
Chief Richard Anderson’s department is now laying fines against those who don’t comply.
“It’s to get the message out that as a fire department, we are not fooling around. We have to take this seriously and so do people.”
The move follows a rash of serious house fires -- five in just a four-month period.
Normally St. Marys, a town of 7,200, expects one to two house fires a year.
“To have that many fires in that short period of time was quite alarming.”
In one case, a garage is all that remains of a blaze that destroyed a family home on Queen St. E.
Anderson says it was seconds away from being a devastating loss.
“That family did not have smoke alarms - at all - in that house. And the main occupant, only by chance when he went to the bathroom, discovered that his living room was on fire. And he quickly got his wife and son out of the house.”
In the aftermath, all were thankful for the lives saved.
But with no safeguards in place to prevent what could have been a tragedy, Anderson made a decision.
“We charged the homeowner after they had a major loss like that. Now, we feel bad; we have a heart, but at the same time, we had to get the point across that residents cannot operate like this. They have to have those smoke alarms.”
Anderson says it to not only protect residents but also the firefighters who respond to calls.
That’s why he says the charges will continue.
The most recent count was just days ago against a Wellington St. S. resident.
Anderson’s team laid a $360 fine after making a startling discovery, “The actual smoke alarms were disconnected.”
The chief says it’s not all that uncommon.
“We find that occupants will disconnect them because of the chirping and stuff like that, with the intention maybe I’m going to get another one, and then it kind of goes by the wayside, and they forget about it."
Which is why Anderson hopes people won’t forget his department is now frequently forgoing warnings for charges.
“It’s to get the message out that as a fire department, we are not fooling around. We have to take this seriously and so do people."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.