NORWICH – The Norwich Fire Department partnered with the American Red Cross over the weekend to provide over 50 free smoke detectors to residents of the City of Norwich.

The two organizations met at 8 a.m. on Saturday in Norwich, split up into five different teams, and installed 68 smoke detectors in 26 residences within the City of Norwich. Fire department officials said two homes in the Town of North Norwich had smoke detectors installed by members of the Red Cross.

According to Norwich Fire Department Chief Jan Papelino, this is the first time that the City of Norwich has partnered with the American Red Cross to bring free smoke detectors to city residents, but it will likely not be the last.

“The bottom line is, now we’ve got 68 smoke detectors in city homes that wouldn’t have had them otherwise,” said Papelino. “Hopefully they sit on the wall and never get activated or used, but it’s a peace of mind to have them there.”

He said national averages showed increased fatality rates in residences that lacked smoke detectors.

“If you look at multiple fatality fires that occur nationwide, a lot of the residences that those occur in didn’t have smoke detectors,” said Papelino. “This was an opportunity for people who didn’t have or couldn’t afford smoke detectors to get them at no cost.”