Fire Prevention Week - October 9-15 - Take the Don’t Wait, Check the Date Selfie Challenge!

Cambridge, Ontario. Oct. 6, 2016… Fire Prevention Week is October 9-15, 2016 and the Cambridge Fire Department wants you to join the Don’t Wait, Check the Date! selfie challenge and join members of the Cambridge Fire Department at the Fire Hall Museum & Education Centre on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Learn more about fire prevention, take a hazard house tour, explore the fire hall museum. Children’s face painting and a colouring station will also be set up on site.

“Smoke alarms don’t last forever. Fire Prevention Week is the perfect time to check the date on your smoke alarms” explains Cambridge Fire Chief, Neil Main. “The theme of Fire Prevention Week this year is Don’t Wait, Check the Date! of your smoke alarm. So we would like to challenge residents to take a selfie of their family checking the expiry date of their smoke alarms and post it on social media.”

Smoke alarms wear out over time and need to be replaced within the time frame indicated by the manufacturer, usually 10 years. The date of manufacture is indicated on the back of the smoke alarm and the expiry date is taken from that date. While smoke alarms typically last 10 years, some have different expiry time frames. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for the expiry time frame of your smoke alarms.

The Cambridge Fire Department also wishes to remind residents that smoke alarms are required on every storey of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Test all of your smoke alarms monthly by pushing the test button on the alarm, and replace batteries at least once a year or when the alarm’s low battery signal begins to chirp.

To take part in the selfie challenge, residents are asked to post their selfie on Facebook, and Twitter and tag @cityofcambridge. For more information, visit www.cambridge.ca.

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Primary Media Contact:

Shawn Falcao
Manager of Communications
Corporate Services
City of Cambridge
falcaos@cambridge.ca
(519) 740-4680 ext. 4350 / cell: (519) 240-3751

Project Contact:

Damond Jamieson
Chief Public Education Officer
Cambridge Fire Department
(519) 621-6001 ext. 2220
jamiesond@cambridge.ca