Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Published Friday, January 11, 2008

YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife business is offering to install fire alarms to seniors for free.

Deputy fire chief Chucker Dewar is working with local electrical retailer Gap Electric to provide alarms and alarm testing for senior citizens.

Phil Rogers of Gap Electric shows off a smoke alarm like the ones the company will be installing for seniors. - Amanda Vaughan/NNSL photo

The fire department will test hard-wired alarms for seniors, and Gap Electric has agreed to provide free installation of alarms purchased from them by seniors.

Phil Rogers from Gap Electric said Dewar approached him for the initiative in early December.

"It's a good way for us to contribute," Rogers said.

He said the fire department will replace faulty hardwired alarms with a temporary battery-operated one until the old unit can be replaced.

Rogers said the alarms are quick and easy to replace, about a half-hour process, and added that the offer will likely run for a while.

"We will probably do it for a year to start, for sure," he said.

Both hardwired and battery-operated smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and hardwired alarms should be replaced every 10 years, according to the Yellowknife Fire Department.

Dewar said residents should test their smoke alarms regularly, and replace them when they start to show signs of failure.

"Both hardwired and battery-operated smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and you should replace any batteries at least twice a year," Dewar said.

Hardwired alarms are tied in to the building's electrical system and need to be installed by a certified electrician.

Dewar said hardwired alarms have been mandatory in all new buildings in the territory since 1988, and since Yellowknife has grown substantially in the last two decades, many buildings' alarms are coming up to their first or second replacement period.

Residents can contact the fire department for information regarding the alarms and their proper testing, and Dewar said that they are sold at several retailers in town.