In the nearly 11,000 residential fires that occurred in British
Columbia between 2006 and 2011, about 70 percent of the fire
scenes examined had either no smoke alarm or a non-functional
smoke alarm, says data from the Office of the Fire Commissioner.
A University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) study found that up to
69 deaths across Canada could be prevented – a reduction of
about 32 percent – each year if all Canadian homes had working
smoke alarms. Shirley Bond, B.C.’s Minister of Justice and
Attorney General, along with Len Garis, president of the Fire
Chiefs’ Association of BC and Surrey Fire Chief, are hoping to
make that happen. Together, they have launched a smoke alarm
campaign, intended to ensure that every home in the province has
a functional smoke alarm so that future tragedies can be
avoided. The new campaign is a sustained, co-ordinated approach
to ensure B.C. homes have a functioning smoke alarm. The Fire
Chiefs’ Association of BC and the Office of the Fire
Commissioner will lead a steering commit