Enbridge Gas helps the Oakville Fire Department reduce fire and carbon monoxide deaths among our most vulnerable through Project Zero

Today, Enbridge Gas and The Oakville Fire Department announced they are working to improve home safety and bring fire and carbon monoxide-related deaths, especially among our most vulnerable populations, down to zero.

The Oakville Fire Department received 522 combination smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms through Project Zero – a public education campaign that will provide 7,500 alarms to residents in 35 municipalities across Ontario. Oakville Fire is working with community agencies to get the alarms into the hands of members of the community who are at greater risk of fire or who may not have easy access to fire alarms, including older adults and people with disabilities.

This year, Enbridge Gas invested $225,000 in Project Zero, and over the past 12 years, the program has provided more than 50,000 alarms to Ontario fire departments.

When properly installed and maintained, combination smoke and CO alarms help provide the early warning to safely escape from a house fire or carbon monoxide exposure. Carbon monoxide is a toxic, odourless gas that is a by-product of incomplete combustion of many types of common fuels.

“Carbon monoxide is known as the ‘silent killer’ for a reason, and we have proof that prevention saves lives. We know that the best way to avoid carbon monoxide exposure is to eliminate it at the source by properly maintaining fuel-burning equipment, and that the alarms are a critical second line of defence to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning,” says Murray Costello, Director, Southeast Region Operations, Enbridge Gas.

“The objective of Project Zero is to deliver combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to Ontario communities who need them the most,” says Jon Pegg, Ontario Fire Marshal. “It’s a program that fire departments can adopt to help educate their communities about the requirement for all Ontario homes to have a CO alarm if they have a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage.”

“Having a sufficient number of properly located smoke and CO alarms is essential to maximize escape time. It is imperative that age, income or disability is not a barrier to having smoke alarms on every level of the home and preferably in every bedroom, and CO alarms outside all sleeping areas, if the home has a fuel-burning appliance or attached garage,” said Oakville Fire Chief Paul Boissonneault. “We thank Meals on Wheels, Gate Keepers, and HMC Connections for helping to distribute these life-saving devices to our most vulnerable community members.”

Enbridge Gas Inc., formed on January 1, 2019 from the amalgamation of Union Gas Limited and Enbridge Gas Distribution, is Canada's largest natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario with a more than 170-year history of providing safe and reliable service to customers. The distribution business serves about 3.8 million customers, heating over 75 per cent of Ontario homes. The storage and transmission business offers a variety of storage and transportation services to customers at the Dawn Hub, the largest integrated underground storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America. Enbridge Gas Inc. is owned by Enbridge Inc., a Canadian-based leader in energy transportation and distribution.

For more information visit the Enbridge Gas website or follow Enbridge Gas on Twitter, @EnbridgeGas.