The CFD receives an early Christmas gift of 3,000 smoke alarms

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — Christmas has come a little early on Monday for the Calgary Fire Department (CFD), thanks to Kidde Canada.

Three thousand smoke alarms were donated to the CFD from Kidde Canada to bolster their Home Safety Program, where they visit homes and check to see if smoke alarms are active an operational.

If they aren’t, they then install devices or replace batteries.

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In the case of a house fire, the alarms could mean the difference between life and death, something Chelsey and Matthew Wock discovered last year.

In last January, the Wock family home caught fire in the early morning. Chelsey said they were asleep before being woken by the alarm.

“We could smell smoke immediately, but we were still half asleep so it didn’t really click,” recalled Chelsey.

“But, as soon as (Matthew) went out our bedroom door, he could see flames coming from the main floor.”

The two grabbed their children and made their way out of the house as quickly and as safely as they could.

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Matthew said the alarm startled them out of a deep sleep into a strong state of awareness.

“To hear the alarm was pretty alarming. All the senses kind of kicked in at the same time and (we) immediately smelled smoke.”

By the time they fully woke up, flames were already travelling through the main floor. However, thanks to their quick action and early warning, they made it out safely with the four children in the home.

“By the time we got out, the smell of the fumes was already toxic. You just have no time to waste. It’s super important that you have the smoke alarms in place,” said Matthew.

With the alarm alerting them, the Wocks were able to use an emergency action planned they had put together for just such an emergency.

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“If it had taken longer, there is little chance that all of us would have made it out in time,” commented Chelsey.

Despite losing almost all of their possessions in the fire, the Wocks count themselves lucky that they got out with what matters most – their family.