« Don't Be a Statistic | Main | The Need for Forward Thinking Energy and Conservation Policies »
October 18, 2007
Condo and apartment dwellers lax about fire safety
As a follow-up to the last blog --- this may be about Canada, but I'd bet the percentages are about the same in the U.S.
A recent study on fire safety reveals that Canada’s condominium and apartment dwellers are not keeping up with Canadians living in houses when it comes to fire safety practices.
According to the annual fire safety study commissioned by Duracell and the Canada Safety Council (CSC), condo and apartment dwellers are lagging in their attention to several basic fire safety practices that could save precious seconds and possibly lives in a fire emergency.
The survey of 1,000 Canadians conducted in March 2007 shows that 77 percent of condo and apartment dwellers have a working flashlight in their residence, compared to 92 percent of Canadian homeowners.
Only 48 percent of condo and apartment dwellers have a fire extinguisher at home, compared to 74 percent among those living in houses.
The study also shows that those living in houses are 20 percent more likely to have working carbon monoxide detectors and three percent more likely to have working smoke alarms.
As for the important fire safety practice of replacing batteries in smoke alarms regularly, the study shows that 63 percent of people in condos or apartments changed batteries in the last year, compared with 74 percent of house residents who said they have kept up with this safety practice.
“Regardless of the type of dwelling that people occupy, the need for smart fire safety practices is a universal issue that all homeowners should pay close attention to,” said Suzanne Robillard, spokesperson for the Canada Safety Council.
“Having your home equipped with safety tools like a fire extinguisher and a working flashlight can make a difference when fire breaks out. And it certainly pays to have a fire escape plan in place so that everyone knows what to do in an emergency. There is no excuse today for condo dwellers to be letting their guard down on fire safety.”
While the study showed that house dwellers were ahead of condo and apartment dwellers on most fire safety practices covered in the survey, the condo and apartment dwellers did come out ahead on home fire drills, with 30 percent saying they practiced a fire drill in the past year, compared to 20 percent of people living in houses.
[From The Suburban, in Quebec]
Posted by joewest at October 18, 2007 10:50 AM