City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:
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News Release: January 11, 2013
Toronto Fire Services says majority of 2011 fatal fires
result of non-functioning or no smoke alarms
Toronto Fire Chief Jim Sales said today that of 16 fatal
fires in Toronto in 2011, the majority were the result of no smoke alarms or
non-functioning smoke alarms on the premises, which resulted in increased time
for the fire to be detected and reported to 911. The 16 fatal fires (one of
which was a vehicle fire) resulted in 18 deaths.
"I want to make it clear that the majority of these
fatalities could have been prevented with functioning smoke alarms," said
Chief Sales. "Fire trucks were available and responded as soon as possible
to these fires. There is no evidence that trucks being out of service affected
the outcome of these fires."
The average response time was 5.22 minutes for 15 of the
16 fatal fires. This is well below Toronto Fire's standard response time of
6.47 minutes 90 per cent of the time.
The number of structure fires in Toronto from the 10-year
period from 2002 to 2011 has shown a steady decline from 213 to 122. The
average number of fatal fires over the 10-year period from 2002 to 2011 was
13.2, with the number of fatalities remaining steady over the same period with
an average of 16.1. Preliminary statistics for 2012 indicate 11 fatalities,
which is the lowest since 2006, when the City also experienced 11 fatalities.
Chief Sales also stressed that the City's proposed 2013
Tax Supported Operating Budget recommendation to eliminate 101 vacant
firefighter positions and eliminate five fire trucks would have a minimal
impact on current operations. These changes would increase the average response
times city-wide by one second for the first truck and by five seconds for the
second responding truck.
The budget was approved by the City's Executive Committee
yesterday and will be considered by City Council at its meeting on January, 15,
16 and 17.
Toronto is Canada's largest city and sixth largest
government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.7 million people.
Toronto's government is dedicated to delivering customer service excellence,
creating a transparent and accountable government, reducing the size and cost
of government and building a transportation city. For information on
non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and
visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
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Media contact: Debbie Higgins, Deputy Chief, Fire
Prevention and Public Education, 416-338-9055, dhiggin@toronto.ca
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