Volunteers Install Free Smoke Detectors

The Muskingum Valley Red Cross and the Zanesville Fire Department are teaming up to help save lives.

As part of a nationwide campaign, volunteers installed free smoke detectors and delivered fire safety information in neighborhoods across the community with a history of frequent home fires.

“The state fire marshals are putting a real big push on smoke detectors, it’s proven that they save lives, so the Red Cross came to us, asked us to be a partner agency with them, they have 120 smoke detectors that are 10 year smoke detectors, and what we’re doing is going house to house, knocking on doors,” said Assistant Chief, Doug Hobson.

“The Home Fire Preparedness campaign” is aiming to reduce the number of home fire deaths and injuries by 25 percent in the next five years. Unfortunately, ohio is seeing an increase in child deaths due to home fires. So far in 2015 there have been 14 fatalities.

“Right now what’s going on is there’s a lot of fatalities, there’s a lot of injuries due to not having smoke detectors, we just had a fire yesterday, five occupants in the upstairs house, no smoke detectors at all, thank goodness someone was able to wake them up they were able to get out of the residence,” Hobson said.

The volunteers will be hitting the streets again this Friday. If you’re interested in helping, visit volunteerconnection.redcross.org.