Knock, knock! Wake Up and check your alarms with Ottawa Fire Services

As part of the spring Wake Up! program, firefighters from Ottawa Fire Services will visit homes across the city this month to ensure smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are present and working.

Every Sunday in June, uniformed firefighters will:

• Visit select residential areas between 10 am and 4 pm.
• Offer to inspect and test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Share information on fire safety and home escape planning.
• Leave a door hanger with fire safety information if no one is home.

Residents are not obligated to provide firefighters access to their home.

Ontario’s Fire Code requires that homes have a working smoke alarm on each storey and outside each sleeping area. Additional requirements apply to newer homes built after 2014.

Make sure your smoke alarms are working by:

• Testing your alarms once per month
• Replacing the alarms’ batteries once per year
• Installing new alarms once every 10 years or as instructed by the manufacturer

If the home has an attached garage, a wood stove or a fuel-fired appliance,  carbon monoxide alarms are also required outside sleeping areas and on each storey. Installation of carbon monoxide alarms on each storey of the home, where applicable, was added to the Ontario Fire Code as of January 1, 2026.

Visit Ottawa Fire Services for more information on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, including where to install these alarms in your building and other safety tips.