St Catharines Fire Chief is reminding residents of their responsibility when it comes to working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
The reminder comes after the owner of a property at 5 Lucerne Place plead guilty to three charges related to a failure to install working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, alongside a failure to ensure those alarms were maintained in working order.
The conviction comes with $7,500 worth of fines.
"Fire services across the province have been seeing a tragic increase in the case of fatal fires where people do not have working smoke alarms," said Fire Chief Dave Upper. "Smoke alarms are the first line of defence in fire escape planning - properly installed and maintained they play a vital role in reducing fire deaths, injuries and property damage."
The law requires working smoke alarms on every storey of a home and outside all sleeping areas.
It also requires working carbon monoxide alarms outside sleeping areas in units where a fuel-burning appliance is installed or shares a common wall or floor with a service room containing such an appliance or an attached garage.