The main takeaway from Fire Prevention week in Chatham-Kent is make sure the fire alarms in your home are working perfectly. 
Public Educator Whitney Burke says a CHIRP Check is the way to go.
Simply call the Civic Centre and they will send out a crew to check your alarms and make sure everything is working properly.
And what if you don’t have any fire alarms?
“If you are someone who is in need of an alarm, we will make sure you have one,” Burk says. “If you are a family who can’t afford to put alarms in your house, we will provide them for you on the spot but we ask that you donate back to our program.”
The whole process takes about 10 minutes.
Burk says the most common misconception they come across during CHiRP checks is about the lifespan of a smoke detector.
Most detectors are good for about 10 years. If the alarms in your house don’t have an expiry date listed, they’re probably too old.
To book a CHiRP home alarm check, call 519-360-1998 or email ckfire@chatham-kent.ca.