Smoke Detectors

[Click Click 27]

I recently saw a segment on the news about the Philly fire department's operation save a life. They go door to door in the city offering to test smoke detectors, replace batteries, and even give out new smoke detectors to those that need them

does your department do any thing similar? do they just give out spare batteries to homes that have dead ones during alarm systems, or just educate the public during fire prevention week.

also if a home owner request that the fire department check smoke detectors , do you do it?, if so who goes to the home?

[gongsquad]

Per our policy.....we are to check smoke detectors in every residence after responding to a reported fire or an investigation call.

On a personal level I try to have someone from my crew check the smoke detectors everytime we are in a house. Yes even if we are in the house for an ems call.

If there is a problem with there smoke detector we "the fire department" will issue a loaner smoke detector until the homeowner replaces the same.

[RngrVnc33]

gongsquad said:

On a personal level I try to have someone from my crew check the smoke detectors everytime we are in a house. Yes even if we are in the house for an ems call

Depending on wether or not the call requires an emergent response to the hospital (when Im on the AMBO) I check smoke detectors and exit doors of commercial properties and hotels all the time.

[Maverick27]

When i run with dist. 37, every year we do what is called a senior citizen inspection. we go to senior citizen residents of the town and we do a home inspection of smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, inspection of extinguishers, etc. and change batteries. we change the detectors if they've gone past their 10 year life. we give them carbon monoxide detectors if they dont have them. we mount extinguishers where it would most benefit in case of a fire. We usually get a grant of some sort from energizer battery corp that sends us boxes of 9v batteries for this program. its a great program and the other residents of the town give us kudo's for this, especially for the senior citizens whom have disabilities and live alone.

IMO, smoke detectors are vital. If I go into someone's house, (friends, family, or people I just met) and I hear their detectors beeping because of low batteries or there are no smoke detectors in the house, I'm on them like hell. I get crap for it from them for being annoying, but hey, guess what, it might save your life. and then when it does, you can thank the annoying volunteer fireman who nagged you to change the battery or put a detector in the house. I can recall incidents where I've gone to in dist 37 with a smoke filled house and there is not one detector in the house, or the detector hasn't been changed since the late 1980s. Sometimes, you get the excuse that, "well it started beeping and I got annoyed so I pulled the battery..." it happens. just recently we were tapped out to a resident for an odor of smoke. went into the house, all the battery drawers were open, but no batteries were in them. we questioned the resident. she was changing them out, but she got sooo busy to put new batteries in that she totally forgot, and that was since fire prevention!

I think it should be incorporated on every call for every dept. go to an alarm system or investigation, or even a dwelling, whatever the call may be, even if its a lift assist! take a quick 5 min to walk around and test them. do they work? are they expired? do they have batteries in them? are there any in the house?