Oakville Fire begins door-to-door fire safety awareness campaign

Greater focus this year on student rental housing 

Starting today, Oakville Fire crews will be visiting with residents in a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness about fire safety. The friendly and informative visits will help residents learn how to protect themselves, their families and pets from fire hazards, including carbon monoxide exposure.

The home awareness program runs until September 30 and will see fire crews visit more than 3,600 homes to educate residents and distribute fire safety information in English, French and the most common languages spoken in Oakville - Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, Urdu and Portuguese. For information in another language, residents can call 905-845-6601 and request for over-the-phone interpretation, available in more than 240 languages.

Visits will take place between 6 to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 1 to 5 p.m. on weekends. Firefighters will be in uniform and residents are not obligated to provide them access to their home as this is a courtesy call only.

In the wake of recent fires where smoke alarms were not present or not working in rental homes, crews will have a greater focus on college-age student rental housing. Information will be shared about the legislated fire safety responsibilities of landlords and students, risks of unattended cooking, use of candles, disabling of smoke alarms, and preventative actions that can save their lives.

Ontario’s Fire Code requires that homes have a working smoke alarm on each floor and outside all sleeping areas. Carbon monoxide alarms are also required outside sleeping areas if the home has an attached garage, fireplace, wood stove or fuel-burning appliance.

Fire safety is a shared responsibility, and the Oakville Fire Department urges everyone in Oakville to prepare, practise and stay alert. More details are available on the Fire Prevention and Safety page.