LIMA — Continuing efforts to reduce fire-related fatalities, the Lima Fire Department, in partnership with the American Red Cross of West Central Ohio, will be distributing free smoke detectors between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Riverside North neighborhood.
“This will be the second time that the fire prevention bureau will be working with the American Red Cross,” LFD fire safety inspector Christopher Jackson said. “They have a great program where they go out to neighborhoods in a door-to-door campaign. They knock on doors and ask if they have working smoke detectors. If they don’t and they’re willing, we’ll go in and install a working smoke detector.”
Along with the detector, Jackson hopes to educate residents on the importance of fire safety.
“We’ll give them some educational material as well on why they need smoke detectors,” he said. “In the United States, about three out of every five home fires are in homes without working smoke detectors, and with the weather changing, we feel it’s important for people to have working smoke detectors in their homes.”
Derek Stemen, executive director for the West Central Ohio American Red Cross, expects to distribute anywhere from 100 to 200 detectors in the Riverside North neighborhood. To date, the Red Cross has distributed more than 1,500 smoke detectors in the region.
“Our goal is to reduce the number of fatalities by 25 percent in the next five years in an effort to keep the community safe,” he said. “The response has been absolutely great so far. We’ve been very glad to see neighborhoods welcome us in to provide this service.”
For Riverside North Neighborhood Association chair and 4th Ward Councilwoman Rebecca Kreher, this outreach goes very well with other outreach efforts in the community.
“It is a good idea to get this program out to the community because this will save lives, whether it’s today, tomorrow or 10 years from now,” she said.
For information, contact the American Red Cross at 419-227-5121.
