Do you know the fire code? How Toronto tenant advocates are trying to combat fire safety confusion

Did you know homes must have one carbon monoxide detector per sleeping unit?

Or that fire escapes in low-rises must be made up of metals or other non-combustiblematerials?

Or that landlords are not required to providefire extinguishers in kitchens?

If you didn't, you're not alone. That's all in the province's fire code, according to theFederation of Metro Tenants' Associations. But executive director GeordieDent saidtenants often feel left in the dark.

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The FMTA gets "hundreds" of calls a year from tenants trying to figure out fire safety issues, he told CBC Toronto. With that in mind, the group is working on an upcoming fire code overview designed specifically for tenants thatithopes to release on itswebsite in July.

"The problem with this is this isn't a minor issue. It's not a small broken appliance this is whether or not your entire place could go up in smoke," Dent said.

The guide is also inspired, in part, by recent headline-making blazes,including the Grenfell tower fire in London, where at least 79 people perishedinside the 24-storey apartment building on June 14.

And there are problems closer to home, as well.

"A lot of the older buildings have infrastructure problems,"Dent said. "They're worried about transformers or about electrical systems that are out of date."

3 fires at Toronto highrises in February

Several firesshook Toronto just this year, including three at highrises in the downtown core in February alone thatled to one death and multiple injuries.

The following month, one person was injured during a fire at the Arleta Manor low-rise complex near Sheppard Avenue West.

The area'slong-timecouncillor,MariaAugimeri, praised the FMTA for working to get more information into the hands of tenants, and said the city needs to do more, as well.

"In the City of Toronto, we're building more and more highrises," she said. "Every few months, we get more and more applications before us. Are we prepared? No, we're not."

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• Carelessly discarded cigarettes causing 'alarming' number of balcony fires in Toronto

There have also been at least27 fires in Toronto so far this year caused by carelessly discarded cigarettes from units above that landed on balconies below and ignited combustible material, according to TorontoDeputy Fire Chief JimJessop.

It's all potential cause for concern for tenants, but Dent hopes the upcoming guide at least boosts their knowledge of what the fire code entails.

The guide will share how to deal with a fire violation in a building, how to tell if something's not up to codeand how to handle the complaints process, Dent said.

"We're trying to give tenants the tools to better understand what is risky in terms of what the law is, and how to address it."