Smelling smoke in the house but nothing is going off? You could have a problem, one that the Paulding County Emergency Management Agency, Paulding County firefighters and Community Emergency Response Team in conjunction with Red Cross tried to solve earlier this month.
The groups went out into the Southern Trace subdivision in weeks past with volunteers going door to door to provide the opportunity to install free smoke alarms and give residents educational material about keeping their homes safe.
The Fire Alarm Blitz on August 12 saw two dozen volunteers get out into the neighborhood and reach 25 homes that needed new smoke detectors.
Per the EMA, the group installed 59 alarms that helped make those 25 homes safer, and served 78 individuals in the process.
That equaled up to 174 hours of volunteer work during the weekend event alone.
It is important to ensure that your smoke detectors are working, or that you have them in your home for the following reason: Home fires claim seven lives a day in the U.S., but working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half.
The event’s goal was to reduce the number of lives lost through home fires with the installation of free smoke alarms. Families can also reduce the risk of injury or death in home fires by creating escape plans, and sharing fire safety information with every family member living in a household.
