Most buildings are equipped with fire alarm systems, and Weyburn’s Fire Chief Trent Lee has some tips for using them and staying safe from fires.
“They can activate for any different reason from water flow in a sprinkler system, to heat detected or smoke detected throughout the building,” said Lee. “We want to make sure that occupants don't ever silence those alarms until it's been verified that there is not an actual working incident within those buildings.”
Lee said people tend to silence the alarm because it can be loud and annoying, but that can put the occupants at risk.
"Because they think the alarm is stopped and there is no incident to worry about and they could go back to sleep or back to their apartments and they're putting their lives at risk. So, we just want to make sure that nobody ever silences a fire alarm system within a building until it's been verified that there is no concern.”
He added until the alarm is verified as a false alarm, the occupants should exit the building and stay out.
“That way they're in a safe area and should there be an incident that is actually happening, they're out of harm's way.”
Lee said residential homes have interconnected smoke alarms, where the smoke could be coming from a different area of the house than the alarm that’s going off.