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Smoke alarm 

Smoke alarms are required on every floor, including in basements, and must be checked to ensure that they are in good working order. Smoke alarms must be installed between rooms and the rest of the floor or in hallways. Batteries should be changed every six months. You may choose to use the time changes as your reminder to change your smoke alarm battery.

Have you tested yours? If not, take a few seconds to do so, and spend a few cents on new batteries. They could save your life!

Maintaining smoke alarm

Legislation requiring the installation of at least one smoke alarm

Installing a smoke alarm alone is not sufficient to ensure your protection: it is also necessary to ensure that it is maintained and in good working order, as specified in the wording of the future legislation on the requirement to install a smoke alarm.

A poorly maintained smoke alarm can go off at the wrong time, late or not at all!

Regularly test your smoke detector

Once a month, press the "test" button on your smoke detector to check whether it is operating properly.

The signal should be heard immediately.

You can use the smoke of a candle that has just been blown out to simulate a detection and a trigger, or if there is a smoker in the house, you can use the smoke from the cigarette.

The alarm should sound for approximately one minute, after which the alarm will turn off by itself.

This test should be done every year or when the family has been away from home for more than seven days.

As soon as the alarm goes off, brush away the smoke to spare the battery.

Clean your smoke alarm

In order to eliminate dust particles and guarantee maximum protection, vacuum the alarm's lateral openings, or pass a soft brush over them, and clean the outside of the casing with a damp sponge or cloth.

It is recommended that this be done twice a year. This can be done more frequently if the room is dusty.

If it is not connected to a power circuit, the battery should be changed annually.

In order to remember to make this change, choose a family member's birthday or a season or time change.

Replace the battery when the alarm goes off intermittently, because this means that the battery is running low.

Replace your alarm every 10 years

Smoke detectors have to be replaced at least every ten years. Check the packaging for its expected lifespan.

Make a note of this information, including the installation date, and keep it with your home insurance papers, for example, for easy reference if necessary.

Carbon monoxide alarms

Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that is responsible for several cases of intoxication every year.

Carbon monoxide intoxication can have irreversible consequences and can even lead to death.

Contrary to many other gases, carbon monoxide is invisible and odourless. It does not irritate the eyes or the respiratory tract.

Only a carbon monoxide detector can alert you to its presence.

Sweeping chimneys

Owners are responsible for ensuring that chimneys are swept annually.

 Kitchen fires

Most kitchen fires are caused by frying foods – never leave cooking food unsupervised.

 Preventive visits

Under the fire safety cover plan, the fire department will conduct preventive visits to make recommendations and collect data to identify the potential risk in every residence and business in the territory. These measures are aimed at facilitating the work of intervention teams in case an alarm is triggered.

Each visit involves a team of two firefighters. If nobody is home when they stop by, a document will be left indicating how to contact us to make an appointment.

Open fires

Before lighting an open air fire, you will need a burning permit from the Director of Public Safety at 1754 Route 148.

Please note that a new burning by-law has been passed, and from now on every open fire requires a permit, regardless of the time of year, and the area will be checked ahead of time. This is supported by the SOPFEU.

SOPFEU and fire hazards

For information about fire hazards in a particular region, go to the fire hazard page at www.sopfeu.qc.ca, and sign up. The SOPFEU Web site provides information about preventive measures in effect and the risk of fire.