Garage fires on the rise, heat alarms could be the answer

Heavy smoke and flames ripped through a garage in Severn Township this week. Fire crews were able to minimize the damage.

Severn Township Fire Dept. Fire Chief Ritch Lowell says, “We pulled a large diameter attack line to get on the fire right away.”

Garage fires, like the one in Severn, are on the rise, according to the numbers. 22 people died in a garage fire in Ontario from 2013 to 2025. Heat alarms for garages are not a new idea, but the idea of mandating their use is.

Several firefighters have been working for years to have heat alarms required in all new construction, something that is now legislated only in Manitoba.

The Fire Chief for Russell Township Brian McBain says, “If a fire starts in the house, it’s not detected, so it’s going to take a while before you are aware of it. So by having this heat alarm, it’s going to be interconnected to the smoke alarms in the house.”

“This here is a heat alarm it’s no different than a smoke alarm with the same hook ups as you working smoke alarm,” McBain continues.

The Office of the Fire Marshall says nearly three quarters of all fires in Ontario are residential and nearly four out of ten times, the fire spreads beyond the area of origin.

Chief Fire Prevention Officer Ryan Schell of the Central York Fire Department says, “What we are looking for is a layer of protection in the garage right now. With garage fires on the rise, we want to make sure you and your family are protected.”

Deputy Fire Marshall John McBeth says, “We have to look at the composition of our garage. Today we have electric vehicles, we have power tools that are being charged, batteries galore, and so a heat alarm, when installed in a home’s garage, can alert you to high increases in temperature.”

“Depends on the type of fire - if you have a more smoldering fire, you might experience more of a heat release than a smoke release and heat detectors are just a different way of detecting fires,” McBeth continues.

The next update to the building code of Canada is set for 2030. That’s when the fire safety professionals say they hope to have the heat alarms mandated across the country.