Fire chief worried after lack of working smoke alarms at Oshawa fire
Oshawa firefighters responded to a house fire on Burke Street in Oshawa recently, which was caused by a kitchen fire that had extended to other parts of the house. (Photo by Colin Williamson)
By Chris Jones/The Oshawa Express
Oshawa Fire Chief Derrick Clark is raising the alarm after no working smoke alarms were found at the site of a recent fire in Oshawa.
Clark explains the fire department received a call that smoke was coming from the house at 232 Burke St., and on arrival firefighters discovered a kitchen fire which had extended to other parts of the house.
“Crews did a great job of knocking this fire down very rapidly,” he says, noting nobody was home at the time of the fire.
He says the cause of the fire was electrical. However, his biggest concern was the lack of working smoke and CO alarms around the house.
“We keep seeing this over and over again. We keep fighting fires or going into residences which don’t have working smoke alarms,” he says. “This is mind boggling to me after everything we’ve done and where we are in society today.”
Clark is grateful there were no injuries and that no one was home, but says he is disappointed to see there were no working smoke alarms in the house.
Failure to have a working smoke alarm can result in a ticket for $360 or a fine of up to $50,000 for individuals, and $100,000 for corporations. Clark says charges are currently pending.