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Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services Office of the Fire Marshal |
Ministère de la Sécurité communautaire et des Services
correctionnels |
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Place Nouveau Building 7th Floor 5775 Yonge Street North York ON M2M 4J1 Telephone 416-325-3100 Facsimile: 416-325-3162 |
Édifice Place Nouveau |
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August 5, 2008
To Whom It May Concern:
Two recent fires in trailer homes this summer have resulted in the deaths of
four people. On June 30, a
34-year-old man and two young children died in a fire in a trailer park in
Essex, Ontario.
On July 28, 2008, a 42-year-old man died in a fire in a trailer home in a
campground near Petrolia, Ontario. Office of the Fire Marshal investigators
found no evidence of working smoke alarms in either of the trailer homes where
the fires occurred.
As a result of these tragic fatal fires, the Office of the Fire Marshal
(OFM) is asking for your cooperation in printing, posting and distributing
the attached public service announcement (PSA) reminding everyone that it
is the law to have a working smoke alarm in their RV, trailer or mobile home.
The Ontario Fire Code requires every ‘dwelling unit’ in Ontario to have working
smoke alarms on every storey and outside all sleeping areas. The term ‘dwelling
unit’ includes seasonal homes such as park model trailers, cabins and cottages
and also includes trailer homes, motor homes and other recreational vehicles.
While many new
trailer and RV models may already meet a construction standard requiring working
smoke alarms, older models may not be equipped with any or they may not have
been properly maintained. It is a
good practice to install working smoke alarms in any recreational vehicle,
trailer and boat with sleeping quarters.
Test the alarms monthly and after any absence of more than a few days.
Replace any smoke alarms that may be more than 10 years old.
Failure to comply with the applicable
Fire Code smoke
alarm requirements
can result in a ticket for $235 or a fine of up to
$100,000.
If you require more information about the smoke
alarm regulation and how it relates to RVs, trailer homes, mobile homes and
other seasonal homes,
please contact your local fire department or Gina
Pontikas, Public Relations Officer, Office of the Fire Marshal, at
(416) 325‑3138.
Sincerely,
Pat Burke
Fire Marshal of Ontario
Letter to Campgrounds, RV Associations, trailer and motor home
sites (PDF)
Trailer PSA (JPG,
PDF)
Trailer poster (JPG,
PDF)
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