Jan Doherty, Public Education Officer, No Phone Number Available
Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at 2:34 p.m.
On Saturday, Oct. 11, the Spokane Fire Department, in partnership with the American Red Cross and Gonzaga University, canvassed the Logan neighborhood to ensure homes have working smoke detectors.
Volunteers walked door to door to share fire safety and emergency preparedness information and install detectors when needed. The volunteers installed an estimated 40 detectors for low-income families in need and more installations are scheduled for Oct. 24 and 25.
Recently, we received a FEMA grant through the Washington State Association of Fire Marshals that provided us with smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors that we can install in limited income households. While we were beginning our program, The American Red Cross initiated a similar project in an effort to reduce the number of fire fatalities and injuries by 25 percent within the next five years.
Fire Prevention Week's theme of “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives” was the perfect opportunity for us to combine our efforts and supplies to help save lives and make our city safer.
About 2,700 Americans die in residential fires each year. In most cases, the death could have been prevented with an early alert from a working smoke detector. We encourage everyone to learn more about smoke detectors and to help make Spokane safer by ensuring yours are up to date and have working batteries.
For questions about smoke detector safety and community education, contact Jan Doherty at 509.625.7058 or JDoherty@spokanecity.org.
