The Fire Chief for Niverville says there are probably homeowners in his community who do not consider replacing their smoke alarms a high priority.

But Keith Bueckert says he feels it is the responsibility of the fire department to make sure smoke alarms are available to the public. And, that is the reason they are again offering free smoke alarms to residents.

Bueckert says this is actually a provincial program. It is a partnership between Red River Mutual, the Office of the Fire Commissioner, the Firefighters Burn Fund and the Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs.

The Niverville Fire Department first tapped into this program a couple of years ago. Bueckert says in that time, they have installed about 200 alarms in Niverville. This time around, the Office of the Fire Commissioner has made 50 fire alarms available to Niverville, to be installed over the fall and winter months.

According to Bueckert, it was around the mid-90's when homes started to be hard wired for smoke alarms. Prior to that, houses used battery operated alarms. Through this program, the fire department will go into your home and replace any battery operated smoke alarms with ten year lithium battery powered alarms.

"They don't require any battery changes and basically at the end of ten years, you are supposed to replace the alarm regardless," says Bueckert. "So you have a smoke alarm that you don't really have to do any maintenance to except for test monthly."

Bueckert says there is a limit of two alarms per house, or however many levels you might have. A two story house with a basement would be permitted to get three alarms from the fire department. Anyone wanting one should contact the Fire Chief at firechief@whereyoubelong.ca.

"If you don't have working smoke alarms you are really putting yourself behind the eight ball," says Bueckert. "So if we can provide these new alarms to people, it's a part of our job in the community, acting as a prevention service as well."

Bueckert says he would like to think that all homes in Niverville have working smoke alarms and that none of them have surpassed the expiry date. But, he says it is not something most people think about until the alarm goes off because of Dad's cooking.

"I would love to say that everyone's smoke alarms are working in the community and that they have one on each level, but it's hard to say," he says. "It's something that we're all guilty of forgetting about."