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In 90 percent of the fires in Springfield where a death occurred in recent years, a working smoke alarm was not present or it was missing batteries. The Springfield Fire Department is pushing to help more homes obtain smoke alarms to reduce the chances of fire-related injury. KSMU’s Matthew Barnes reports.
If you are a homeowner or a renter living in Springfield you can get a smoke alarm installed by the Springfield Fire Department at no cost to you as a part of the department’s “Year of the Smoke Alarm” campaign. Assistant Fire Chief Randy Villines says the campaign is meant to build awareness and provide safety.
“For this year we’ve have installed 706 smoke alarms to folks around the community and our goal is 1,100 in 2011 so as part of this campaign we want to get out there and make sure as many people as possible are educated about the effectiveness of smoke alarms and the fact that a working smoke alarm is the number one line of defense in a fire,” Says Villines
According to Villines many people in Springfield are without alarms and recommends that you should have one on every floor of your house. He also says that smoke alarms should be tested regularly.
“If you have a smoke alarm you should check it weekly. If you’re vacuuming the house or just walking down the hallway just reach up and press that test button that’s on the smoke alarms and it should beep for you. The other thing that you should do is at least once a year put a fresh nine volt battery in that smoke alarm,” says Villines.
Having a smoke alarm in your house can reduce the chance of a fire-related death by 50%. To receive a fire alarm, residents of Springfield may call 864-1515.
For KSMU News, I’m Matthew Barnes.
