A daycare provider has been charged after a kitchen fire at their downtown St. Catharines home.
Fire Chief Dave Wood says the small blaze at the home on 70 York Street last Thursday was likely accidental, but they discovered there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the home.
Eight children ranging in age from nine months to two-and-a-half years old were in the home at the time, no one was injured in the fire.
Three pet dogs and five cats were also unhurt.
Damage is estimated between $40,000 and $50,000.
The fire chief said the daycare had working smoke alarms but were missing carbon monoxide alarms, life-saving devices that alert the presence of an otherwise undetectable poisonous gas. Carbon monoxide is invisible, odourless and mixes easily with the air we breathe, said Wood.
“I’m disappointed at the disregard for the safety these children,” said the fire chief. “When you are caring for other people’s children, whether you are a daycare, a babysitter or hosting a playdate, you have an obligation to make sure they are safe. That means having carbon monoxide alarms installed if you need them.”
The Ontario Fire Code requires working smoke alarms on every level of a home and working carbon monoxide alarms outside sleeping areas and in service rooms when a property has fuel burning furnaces and appliances, fireplaces and attached garages.
The property did not have working carbon monoxide alarms installed in sleeping areas or in the basement apartment.