The Madawaska Valley fire department has given a failing grade to residents when it comes to alarms in the household.
The department did a check of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in residences in the township on January 27th. They say that out of the 38 residences they checked, only 4 homes were compliant with safety standards. They say this means 89 percent of homes they checked were non-compliant.
The department says that the ticket for having no smoke alarm is 360 dollars plus court cost for a total of 450 dollars per alarm. Carbon monoxide alarm fines can be as high as 295 dollars per alarm. The fire department says that fines can go as high as 50 thousand dollars for landlords and 100 thousand dollars for corporations.
The fire department says that every residence, from houses to apartment to even hunting camps and renter trailers, require smoke alarms on every level. In addition, one has to be outside every sleeping area. The department also says that each level of your home requires a CO alarm, and must be installed outside of the sleeping area. They say this especially applies to homes that burn fossil fuels for heat.
The department says that common excuses were taking it down for cooking and not being aware of the law. The fire department notes that it has been the law to have a smoke detector in your home since 1998.