A24 - Sunday, October 14, 1984 - North Shore News West Van fire alarm upgrading pays dividends at apartment HIGHRISE apartment dwellers and their building managers should treat their fire alarm system with the respect it deserves. That’s the moral of a recent story from West Vancouver. By NOEL WRIGHT systems under an overail upgrading program launched five years ago by West Van Mayor Derrick Humphreys. The 17-year-old buildings were required to install heat detectors in suites, storage and service rooms; break- glass switches at exit stair- Less than three months after the alarm system was upgraded in a highrise com- plex there, it paid valuable dividends. The complex---two 18- storey buildings and one 19- storey, with a total of 500 Suites---was the last of 96 highrise blocks called upon to improve their alarm way doors; an annunciator panel; and approved, elec- trically supervised fire alarms. The work was com- pleted on March 20 of this year. Just after midnight on June 14 fire broke out in an upholstered chair in an eighth-floor suite occupied by a woman living alone. The heat detector inside the suite and the smoke detector in the corridor were activated, and in turn ac- tivated the alarm. The building manager left his own 15th-floor suite to check the annunciator panel in the lobby and then went up to the suite on fire. He unlocked the door but couldn’t open it because of a chair propped against it. At that point he returned to the lobby and phoned the Fire Department. Fire fighters were on the scene within three minutes and put out the fire with apartment packs. As they entered the suite, the woman was calling to them from her bedroom and attempting to open the bedroom door. She was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. Dam- age to the suite and its con- tents was put at $30,000. Captain Gerry Harrington of the West Van Fire Department credited the upgraded alarm system for helping save the woman's life and possibly preventing other casualties---but he also sounded a warning about the importance of fire safety plans. The building manager's actions, he said, in first go- ing down to the annunciator panel and then up to the af- fected suite caused a consid- erable delay in the alarm get- ting to the Fire Department. With a proper fire safety plan in place, the manager should have been trained to call the Fire Department immediately he heard the alarm, and only then start looking for the fire on his gina ITU te ome yu Accent 0c Will you be spending too much money to keep your home warm again this winter? You may have insulated your attic, but not the basement. Your doors and windows may not be properly caulked or weatherstripped And your heating system may be costing too much to operate Now is the time to do something about winter warmth and winter fuel tills Energy, Mines and Kesources Canada 1s ready to help you take the eneray load off your mund "Mey yp Do it yourself or hire a contractor. Some people hke to do home improvements themselves. But if you prefer to have a contractor do the work, be sure the Company 1s hsted with the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Save even more money. As well aS insulating, you Can Save more heating dollars by ensuring that your heating syStem 1s properly maintained . . Call the HEATILINE: to find out more We will help you insulate. Proper iisulahon and Gdrattprocfiney to thie Saver Toomey as much as 40) percentof your heatmd Cost Theesooner you det started: the sooner you will beat You can call the HEATLINE: for expert advice on methods, J in 7 . five? Coble? thate rials and how to qualify fora taxatole Canadian Home . y Before long, what you sever: work you have: done ry ftgee] boulds, lostilahon Procgrarn ( too call facotnies: CHIP) grantofup to $500 This applies will poay for ta » toualt woe Copleniae 1 1O7 January 1 14?7 iy New Sxcotia and Prince bedward sland) Pick up the phone for free expert advice. Call the toll-free HEATLINE 112-800-267-9563 = bar Tuan {28 [oR al Oe ih x Os a OK Canadii Energy, Mines and Resources Canada iv