GRANVILLE – The Granville Fire Department installed free smoke and carbon monoxide alarms for residents on Saturday in partnership with the American Red Cross.
Prior to the event on Saturday, Granville residents had the opportunity to sign up for an alarm by October 20. In order to be eligible, the home had to be built before 1975 and if the homeowner had an alarm, it had to be at least 10-years-old.
“The majority of what we saw was that people had very outdated smoke alarms,” said Rickis.
Rickis also noted that the volunteers from the American Red Cross spoke to all of the homeowners that had alarms installed. The volunteers talked to the people about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, escape plans for house fires, and other general fire safety.
The Granville Fire Department and the American Red Cross installed smoke alarms throughout the day on Saturday. (WNG File Photo)
Beginning the partnership with the American Red Cross on a one-year trial, followed by a five-year program, the Granville Fire Department will continue to partner with the American Red Cross.
According to Tim Rickis, who is a member of the Granville Fire Department, they installed smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms into nine homes on Saturday. In total, they have installed approximately 40 alarms since the program began.
“It’s a really good partnership,” said Rickis. “We’ll definitely be doing it every year.”
From the Granville Fire Department’s latest incident report for 2018, of the over 80 calls they’ve received, there have been at least eight fires, along with two electric fires and two carbon monoxide calls. The American Red Cross reports that, nation wide, seven people die in home fires every day.
The Granville Fire Department’s partnership with the American Red Cross is on behalf of the Sound the Alarm campaign, a nationwide program that installs more than 100,000 free smoke alarms across more than 100 cities throughout the country. During last year’s Sound the Alarm, 122,259 smoke alarms were installed.
Rickis also mentioned that if any Granville residents that are eligible for new smoke or carbon monoxide alarms and didn’t sign up in time for this year’s event, they can contact the Granville Fire Department at 413-357-8572.
