Playing With Fire: Majority (55%) Of Canadians Have Removed Batteries Or Tampered With Smoke Alarms Due To False Alarm
Toronto, ON - It appears that many Canadian homeowners could be playing with fire, with a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and Kidde Canada, revealing that a majority of Canadians (55%) who currently own and live in a house that is at least ten years old indicate that they have `temporarily removed the batteries from a smoke alarm or taken it off the ceiling to silence a false alarm caused by cooking or steam'. Moreover, over one half (51%) of these individuals admit that they have forgotten to put the batteries back in or to hook the alarm back up, whether it be only for a `short period of time' (40%) or for `quite a long time' (11%).
But when it comes to their homes, most Canadians appear to be taking some strides to ensuring their fire safety. In fact, six in ten (62%) say they change the batteries in their smoke alarms at least twice a year.
Moving past the simple task of replacing batteries, though, the data reveal that many Canadians seem unaware of the necessity of changing the actual smoke alarm unit and not just the battery. More specifically, four in ten (37%) believe that battery-operated smoke alarms last for as long as they live in their house, provided that the batteries are changed regularly, and a similar proportion (35%) thinks that smoke alarms that are wired into their home's electrical system never need to be replaced.
But while three quarters (74%) suggest that pushing the test button on a smoke alarm and hearing a response means that the alarm is working properly and does not need to be replaced, three quarters (77%) also agree that smoke alarms should be replaced every ten years, even if they still seem to be working correctly.
As well, it would appear as though there is some confusion as to where smoke alarms should be placed, with most indicating that they have a smoke alarm outside their main level sleeping areas (90%), basement or lower level (87%), or outside a 2nd or 3rd story sleeping areas (84%), a much lower proportion however, suggests that they have an alarm in their living or family room (54%), kitchen (47%) or in their garage (10%).
These are the finding of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs and Kidde Canada, a leading smoke alarm company from 02/14 to 02/19, 2008. This online survey of 2233 individuals was conducted via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel, Ipsos-Reid's national online panel. The results are based on a sample where quota sampling and weighting are employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data. Quotas samples with weighting from the Ipsos online panel provide results that are intended to approximate a probability sample. An unweighted, probability sample of this size, with 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 time out of 20.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]
About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.
To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.
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