Red Cross and Darlington Fire Department team for smoke detector blitz
The Red Cross and Darlington Fire Department installed over 200 smoke alarms at Brockington Heights Apartments.
Photo by Samantha Lyles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
The American Red Cross teamed up with the Darlington Fire Department on March 16 to install new smoke alarms for residents of Brockington Heights Apartments as part of their Smoke Detector Blitz campaign. Through this program, the Red Cross distributes 20,000 free smoke alarms in South Carolina each year.
“The Red Cross supplies the smoke alarms and we provide the labor,” said DFD Chief Pat Cavanaugh, noting that a January fire at Brockington Heights displaced four families and highlighted a need for new smoke detectors.
“Because of that fire we realized there was a shortage, so we contacted the Red Cross and they’ve arranged to have 200 to 300 put in today,” said Cavanaugh, adding that DFD has already installed about 1,500 new alarms in the city.
Chief Cavanaugh said the DFD will provide and install smoke alarms free of charge for anyone living in their coverage area.
“What we’re doing is making this whole area safer for people. We’ve already had several fires here (at Brockington Heights) and we’re very concerned, so we wanted to make sure everybody is protected,” said Red Cross Disaster Program Specialist William Dennis James. “We find that a lot of people don’t have smoke alarms because they just can’t afford them, so we look for those areas specifically to make sure they get alarms.”
James said that in many older homes and apartment complexes, the existing smoke alarms are no longer functional and require replacement. Each new alarm they install comes equipped with a ten-year lithium battery, minimizing maintenance and assuring more reliable protection than older models. Residents also receive a fire safety guide and help devising an escape plan for their family.
“The plan is two minutes to get out, and they need to find two locations in front and back to get out in case one area is blocked, and we set one place for them to meet outside. We educate them completely on what to do in case of a fire,” said James.
Fire experts advise that you may have as little as two minutes to escape a burning home before it’s too late to get out. The Red Cross escape plan recommends low crawling to avoid smoke inhalation, using a backup route if smoke is too thick to crawl under, and closing doors behind you to cut off the fire’s source of fresh air. James said it’s important to practice your 2-minute drill until it becomes routine, and to test smoke alarms monthly to ensure they are operational.
The Red Cross also provides emergency assistance to those displaced by fire. To learn more about fire safety and disaster preparedness, visit www.redcross.org/prepare. To contact the Darlington Fire Department, call (843) 398-4013