A Focus On Safety

The safety of the residents of the Township of Greater Madawaska and its firefighters is the first priority for the Greater Madawaska Fire Department. Whenever there is an emergency requiring the Fire Department, our crews will be there to assist. At the same time, the Fire Department is working to educate businesses and citizens on ways to reduce non-emergency calls so crews can be available to respond to situations where emergency help is truly needed.

If a fire alarm is activated in your home or building, it is always recommended that someone call 9-1-1. Until the cause of the alarm activation can be clearly determined, the Fire Department should be notified to increase the safety of everyone in your home or building.

Monitored Residential Smoke Alarm Systems

Many homes in Greater Madawaska have smoke alarm systems monitored by an alarm monitoring service. In the event of a fire in their home whether anyone is home or not, residents who have alarm monitoring can be assured it will be detected and the Fire Department sent without delay. A smoke alarm system with a monitoring service can often give the owner a considerable savings on property fire insurance rates. Newer systems now monitor for carbon monoxide and combustible gas. In addition, with the advance of technology these systems can even report the type of device that was activated and the specific location in the house as well. The homeowner pays a monthly monitoring fee to the alarm service company. Once a device detects an alarm condition, the system automatically transmits the alarm to the central monitoring station via a telephone line. The monitoring station operator contacts 9-1-1. The Fire Department is dispatched.

Commercial Fire Alarm Systems

An automatic fire alarm system is designed to detect the unwanted presence of fire by monitoring environmental changes associated with combustion. In general, a fire alarm system is either classified as automatic, manually activated, or both. Automatic fire alarm systems can be used to notify people to evacuate in the event of a fire or other emergency, to summon emergency services, and to prepare the structure and associated systems to control the spread of fire and smoke.

The Ontario Fire Code regulates maintenance of fire alarm systems and requires regular testing and maintenance of all devices.

Response

The Greater Madawaska Fire Department is staffed by volunteer fire fighters. Once a call is received by 9-1-1 the Fire Department is dispatched. This means that our volunteer firefighters leave their homes or employment responding to the incident. Depending on the location of the alarm, the Fire Department could respond with four to eight apparatus and 15 to 30 firefighters. Again, the response to a residential or commercial alarm activation is as if there is a fire.