Kidde, North America's #1 home fire safety brand¹, announced the donation of nearly CAD $100,000 worth of Kidde combination smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms with voice alerts to Central York Fire Services (CYFS), helping address critical home fire and CO safety concerns across the communities of Newmarket and Aurora. The donation is being made ahead of Ontario's Test Your Smoke Alarm Day (TYSAD), an annual public safety campaign on September 28 encouraging residents across the province to test their smoke alarms and confirm they are in proper working order.
Kidde and CYFS marked the donation at an event attended by Ontario Deputy Fire Marshal John McBeth, Central York Fire Services’ Fire Chief Rocco Volpe, Chief Fire Prevention Officer Ryan Schell, and Jamie Kovacs, Executive Director of the Fire Marshal's Public Fire Safety Council.
Fire and smoke remain one of the most preventable causes of injury and death in Ontario homes. According to the office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario, by the end of 2025, 125 people had lost their lives in 110 fatal fires, and in many cases, there were no working smoke alarms in the home. In Canada, homes without working smoke alarms account for roughly 74% of residential fire-related deaths.
On the other hand, CO is an invisible, odourless, gas that you cannot detect without a CO alarm. CO poisoning remains a persistent and under-reported risk. Certain groups can be even more vulnerable to CO at lower levels, including children, seniors, people with underlying health conditions, and even pets. Ontario's Fire Code changed as of January 1, 2026. Now CO alarms are required on every story of the house, in addition to one adjacent to each sleeping area.
The donated alarms will support CYFS' ongoing “Stay Fire Smart” Campaign, a proactive, door-to-door outreach initiative launched in 2013 that sends CYFS crews and smoke alarm campaign specialists into neighbourhoods across Newmarket and Aurora each summer to share fire safety information, home escape planning tips, and help residents ensure their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are in working order and offer free home fire inspections. Since its launch, the campaign has reached tens of thousands of homes across Newmarket and Aurora with the goal of reaching each home on a four-year cycle.
This donation is part of Kidde's ongoing Cause For Alarm™ campaign, the company's global home safety education initiative focused on providing fire and carbon monoxide safety education and improving access to alarms that can help save lives, especially in vulnerable and at-risk communities. Cause For Alarm has supported donation events, school programming, and fire department partnerships across Canada, and has expanded its work with Indigenous communities by partnering with the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council and Firefighters Without Borders to bring smoke alarms and culturally relevant fire safety education to more than 30 communities across Canada. With this TYSAD contribution, Kidde has now provided more than $1.3 million in alarms and fire safety resources to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across the country since the program began in 2024.
“Working smoke alarms save lives, period,” said Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg. “You might have less than 60 seconds to safely escape once your smoke alarm sounds. Now imagine if you didn’t hear a beep at all? Being prepared in a fire emergency means having working smoke alarms on every storey of your home and outside all sleeping areas, as well as a practiced home fire escape plan.”
“Every second counts in an emergency which is why it's vital that each home is equipped with smoke and carbon monoxide alarms,” says CYFS Fire Chief Rocco Volpe. “This substantial donation from Kidde to our “Stay Fire Smart" program means we can help ensure more homes are equipped with devices to provide the time they need to get out and get to safety – this will help save lives.”
"We are proud to donate Kidde DETECT combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to Central York Fire Services ahead of Test Your Smoke Alarm Day," said Nicholas Caldareri, Bilingual Marketing and Communications Specialist, Kidde. "Together, we can help make every home a safer home by getting working alarms into the homes of those that need them most.”
Kidde also supports TYSAD by helping homeowners understand the simple steps they can take to help stay protected. That includes regularly testing alarms, replacing batteries when needed, and replacing older units that may be reaching the end of their lifespan. The company also works closely with fire services, safety organizations, and community partners to share educational resources and raise awareness about fire safety. Readers can visit CauseForAlarm.org/Canada to learn more about their life safety education initiative.
About Kidde
Kidde, a leading manufacturer of residential smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers, and safety accessories, has been helping to keep the world a safer place for over 100 years. Kidde produced the first integrated smoke detection system a century ago and continues its legacy today by delivering advanced fire-safety technology. Kidde is a part of Kidde Global Solutions, a global leader in fire and life safety solutions. For more information, visit kiddecanada.com or follow @KiddeCanada on Facebook and Instagram.
For more information about:
Cause For Alarm, visit CauseForAlarm.org/Canada
About Central York Fire Services
Central York Fire Services (CYFS) is a consolidated fire department that provides protection to the Towns of Newmarket and Aurora. CYFS operates under the direction of a six-member Joint Council Committee made up of three members from each of the Town Councils. The Joint Council Committee provides and administers a borderless, single-tier of fire protection and prevention services throughout both towns in accordance with the Consolidated Fire Services Agreement and the Fire Protection and Prevention Act. Visit cyfs.ca for more information.
[1] https://x.com/ONFireMarshal/status/2014686372431339829
[2] https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/4704-three-four-fire-related-deaths-2021-occurred-residential-fire (data from 2021)