Project Zero campaign sees Cambridge firefighters distribute free smoke/carbon monoxide detectors to seniors

NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF CAMBRIDGE
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The Cambridge Fire Department is excited to announce they are partnering with Enbridge Gas and the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council for the Safe Community Project Zero campaign. Safe Community Project Zero is a public education campaign that will provide over 16,600 alarms to residents in 70 municipalities across Ontario.

As part of Safe Community Project Zero, the Cambridge Fire Department is working to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths down to zero through the distribution of 342 smoke/CO alarms to homeowners in need.

The Cambridge Fire Department will be providing the alarms to senior homeowners in Cambridge. Seniors who need an alarm but face challenges in purchasing one, are invited to pick up an alarm through the City’s 50+ Centers, starting Monday, December 6th. Alarms will be given out to those in need on a first come, first served basis.

“The Cambridge Fire Department is proud to have been selected for Safe Community Project Zero. It’s such an important campaign and I know it will positively impact our older residents in need,” says Cambridge Fire Chief Brian Arnold. “Smoke alarms save lives. The Safe Community Project Zero campaign ensures seniors in need can access new, working alarms for their homes.”

“Carbon monoxide is known as the ‘silent killer’ for a reason, and we have proof that prevention saves lives. We know that the best way to avoid carbon monoxide exposure is to eliminate it at the source by properly maintaining fuel-burning equipment, and that the alarms are a critical second line of defense to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning,” says Murray Costello, Director, Southeast Region Operations, Enbridge Gas.

“The objective of Safe Community Project Zero is to deliver combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to Ontario communities who need them the most,” says Jon Pegg, Ontario Fire Marshal and Chair of the Fire Marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council. “It’s a program that fire departments can adopt to help educate their communities about the requirement for all Ontario homes to have a CO alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.”

This year, Enbridge Gas invested $500,000 in Safe Community Project Zero and over the past 13 years the program has provided more than 68,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.

If residents have any questions about Safe Community Project Zero in Cambridge, they can reach out to the Cambridge Fire Department at fireprevention@cambridge.ca.

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