GRANVILLE – Homeowners in Granville still have time to sign up for the town-wide smoke alarm program that is being organized by the Granville Fire Department in partnership with the American Red Cross.
Any interested resident of Granville must have a home that was built prior to 1975 and their current smoke alarm must be 10-years-old or older. People have until October 14 to sign up for the October 27 installation.
At this time, only four households have signed up for the program. Tim Rickis, a member of the Granville Fire Department, noted that the amount of people that sign up will be limited since only so many homes in town were built before 1975. Rickis indicated that homes built before 1975 were not required for smoke alarms to be hardwired.
The Granville Fire Department and the American Red Cross will install smoke alarms throughout the day on October 27. (WNG File Photo)
“A lot of them don’t have smoke detectors or carbon monoxide alarms and it’s definitely important,” said Rickis.
According to Rickis, the smoke alarms being installed on October 27 are expected to last 10 years and homeowners won’t have to worry about changing the battery, just testing them occasionally. The smoke alarms are free for those who sign up for the program or can be purchased at $40 each for those who aren’t available October 27. Rickis said that the cost is worth the price for a more important outcome.
“It could be the difference of getting out of your house and not getting out,” said Rickis.
Launching their Home Fire Campaign in 2014, the American Red Cross started the initiative called Sound the Alarm, which allows Red Cross volunteers and local community members to canvass at-risk neighborhoods, install free smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms, and provide fire prevention and safety education.
In 2018, Sound the Alarm had 31,300 volunteers register to be a part of the installation and home visit event, while installing 122,259 smoke alarms across the country and raising over $15.4 million. According to the Red Cross, seven people die in home fires every day, with most of those incidents involving smoke alarms that lacked an ability to function. The elderly and children are the majority of people that are affected by this tragedy.
If homeowners meet the requirements of the program and are interested in having a new smoke alarm installed, visit granvillefire.net to fill out the form or call the fire department at 413-357-8585.
