Smoke detector giveaway returns

Sponsored by a state program, the East Hernando Fire Department will distribute more than 300 smoke detectors - batteries included.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 5, 2000

When East Hernando firefighters responded to a mobile home fire Tuesday, one of the first things they noticed after dousing the kitchen blaze was the lack of a working smoke detector.

The owners probably did a typical thing, Capt. Dennis Hackett said -- removed the battery after the detector screeched at cooking steam and smoke.

If the fire had started in the night when no one was awake to notice the flames, he said, "we could have gone to a fatality fire."

Such a scenario is all too common in Hernando County, where many residents own mobile homes or homes older than 10 years and they improperly use smoke detectors, Chief Danny Roberts said. To combat the problem, the East Hernando Fire Department is giving away more than 300 smoke detectors -- batteries included -- through a program sponsored by the state Bureau of Fire Prevention and Radio Shack.

The three-toned alarms are more modern than their predecessors, Roberts said, and include a popular reset button that lets users press a button rather than take out the battery if the detector sounds off during cooking or other non-threatening situations.

"They do save lives, no doubt about it," he said. "But they don't do any good sitting in a box in here."

When firefighters respond to calls, they carry some detectors in their trucks and will give them to families that need them. The alarms also are available on a first-come, first-served basis to residents who visit any of the department's three stations or to people who call in requests.

The department will install the smoke detectors for residents who need help, if the residents will sign liability waivers, Roberts said.

"The main thing that we stress is, we would rather give them to people who, for some reason or another, would have trouble purchasing them," he said.

Two years ago, East Hernando Fire gave away 1,000 alarms, and last year it distributed another 300. "There is still a need," Hackett said. "There is still continued loss of life in Florida for lack of an audible alarm in a home."

Where to call

For more information, call the airport station

at 583-2121.

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