Staff Report
BRANT NEWS

A Brantford homeowner was fined after failing to install a smoke alarm in her basement.

Brantford Fire Department officials say a Mary Street resident was convicted in provincial offences court on Sept. 11 and fined $750.

Fire officials say the charge was laid after a fire started in the woman’s basement on June 17.

Firefighters responded to the blaze. Fire prevention officers discovered there was no smoke alarm installed in the basement of the home.

Fire damage to the basement was extensive and damage also affected the main floor.

A second floor occupant had to escape the fire through a bedroom window on the same floor.

“Had a working smoke alarm been installed on the basement level of this home, the fire would have been discovered much earlier and resulted in much less fire damage to the structure and a safer and earlier exit for all occupants of the home,” fire prevention officer Darren Zettler said.

Fire officials are reminding residents that smoke alarms are vital to fire safety in all homes, to test all alarms every month and to change batteries twice annually or when the low battery warning sounds.

Alarms must be installed on each level of a home and outside all sleeping areas.