Madawaska Valley homeowners are playing with fire.
As fire prevention week is coming to an end the Madawaska Valley Township fire chief Corwin Quade shares the good and the bad news. Chief Quade informs us that this years fire prevention week was a success as no major incidents took place in the valley. “We’ve had one false alarm and that’s it” he says. When comparing it to last years fire safety week, he says he’s seen improvement.
On the flip side, he says that the lack of care, when it comes to residential carbon dioxide and fire detectors, is worrying. Over the last few days, the fire department have been knocking on residential doors to see if homeowners had functional fire detectors. Out of all the homes that the fire department verified, there was a 94 percent rate of failure which is a statistic that is, ironically, very alarming. He pursues by saying “People gotta realize that they need a working smoke alarm in each bedroom in the hallway and on every floor and a carbon dioxide detector on every floor”.
As winter approaches, chief Quade advises residents to make sure their chimneys are clean and to keep an eye out on their furnaces and heating appliances.