SFMO, Red Cross Join Hardin County Officials to Install Smoke Alarms April 30
NASHVILLE –The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO), American Red Cross, Hardin County Fire Department, and Savannah Fire Department will install free smoke alarms in homes throughout Hardin County on Saturday, April 30, 2016.
Working in conjunction with local residents, organizers hope to reach at least 1,600 homes in Hardin County during the Saturday canvass event, making it potentially the largest smoke-alarm canvass in the program’s history.
The event is part of the SFMO’s “Get Alarmed, Tennessee!” program which aims to prevent fire deaths in Tennessee’s high-risk areas through the provision of smoke alarms and fire prevention education.
“Red Cross is thrilled to be working with Hardin County fire departments and the State Fire Marshal’s Office on this county-wide canvass,” said Heather Carbajal, Disaster Program Manager for the Mid-West Tennessee chapter of Red Cross. “Our volunteers work very hard to teach people about the dangers of fire and other disasters. Being able to reach an entire county in one day is a great accomplishment and we are very excited to be a part of this effort.”
“The ‘Get Alarmed’ program is huge for our area, as we see quite a lot of fires,” said Hardin County Fire Chief Melvin Martin. “Fortunately, we’ve not had a fire death since 2014 and smoke alarms are a big reason for that. Our goal is to make everyone in our county as safe from fire as possible and Saturday’s canvass will be a great way to do that. If we can prevent one person from dying in a fire, we’ve done our job.”
Since the Get Alarmed program’s inception in 2012, the SFMO and Tennessee fire service partners have distributed over 100,000 smoke alarms statewide. Smoke alarms installed through the program are credited with saving 129 Tennesseans from fire danger so far and helped lower Tennessee’s fire fatality rate to a new all-time low in 2015.
Who: The State Fire Marshal’s Office, Red Cross, Savannah Fire Department, and Hardin County Fire Department.
What: “Get Alarmed, Tennessee” smoke alarm installation event. Volunteers are asked to dress in neat, but comfortable fashion. “Get Alarmed Volunteer” orange emergency vests will be used for identification purposes.
When: 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (CST) Saturday, April 30, 2016.
Where: Volunteers will meet at the Hardin County Fire Department Main Station, 90 Walnut Street, Savannah, Tennessee 38372.
Contact: If you live in Hardin County and need a smoke alarm, please utilize the SFMO’s online alarm request form. If you are interested in volunteering at the canvass event, contact Community Risk Reduction Educator Alex Daugherty at 615-574-0240.
###