Sparta fire crews launching a door-to-door campaign to check and install smoke alarms in high-risk neighborhoods to improve residential safety.
Fire Chief Kevin Powers said the initiative involves a partnership with the state fire marshal’s office to identify areas that have not been visited in a long time. Powers said crews will visit homes to ensure residents have functional detectors and provide education on home fire safety.
“What we’re always looking at is looking at threat assessments in our area for fire safety and just overall safety,” Powers said. “So that’s part of our job in the fire service here is to try and make our community a better place and so that everybody feels safer to be living here in Sparta.”
Powers said the department will install new smoke alarms for free if a home does not have them or if existing units are found to be broken. Powers said the state fire marshal’s office has seen positive results and lives saved in other communities through similar partnerships.
“Through my career of almost 30 years in the fire service, I’ve never been on a fire fatality that had a working smoke detector,” Kevin Powers said. “So I personally believe that working smoke detectors save lives.”
Powers said residents who cannot check their own devices should call the fire department for assistance. Powers said smoke alarms have a shelf life of about 10 years and should be replaced even if they appear to be working.
“I think it really helps community relations a lot because this is a good time where we could go into people’s homes in a non-emergency situation so they’re not so much in a panic,” Kevin Powers said. “And we could build those relationships so when an emergency may happen at their place, they recognize us.”
Powers said the campaign is part of a larger effort to reduce injuries and fatalities caused by emergency incidents. Powers said establishing trust during non-emergency visits helps residents feel more comfortable and confident in the department’s care during a crisis.
“I think this is just showing the initiative that the city has, that they really put the residents of Sparta first as far as their safety goes,” Kevin Powers said. “And, you know, it’s just all part again, we’re one sliver of a huge pie here in Sparta where they’re just making life better all overall.”
