Norwich Fire Department brings free smoke detectors to Norwich residents
(Submitted Photo)
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.”
Papelino added that at each residence the organizations visited; representatives of the Red Cross made sure the occupants had at least two ways to escape their home in the case of a fire.
“Most of the homes our team went to had at least one bedroom with a smoke detector in them,” he said. “We made sure that when we left every bedroom had one in it, along with the common areas.”
“For the people that had working smoke detectors in some of their rooms, we checked to make sure they were in working order and often times replaced their batteries to be safe.”
He added each detector installed was the 10 year, non-removable battery model, which generally costs between $40 and $50 to purchase in department stores.
“Hopefully people won’t have to depend on them to save their lives, but if it comes down to that they'll be happy they got them,” said Papelino.
He said American Red Cross Disaster Program Manager Melanie Pandich did an excellent job assisting with the event, and helped make this possible for the citizens of Norwich.
He added that in the future the Norwich Fire Department would like to extend the range of this event to cover the Town of Norwich as well, and officials are looking at possibly offering it again in the spring.
Individuals interested in learning more about the event may call the American Red Cross at (607) 785-7207.
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.”
Papelino added that at each residence the organizations visited; representatives of the Red Cross made sure the occupants had at least two ways to escape their home in the case of a fire.
“Most of the homes our team went to had at least one bedroom with a smoke detector in them,” he said. “We made sure that when we left every bedroom had one in it, along with the common areas.”
“For the people that had working smoke detectors in some of their rooms, we checked to make sure they were in working order and often times replaced their batteries to be safe.”
He added each detector installed was the 10 year, non-removable battery model, which generally costs between $40 and $50 to purchase in department stores.
“Hopefully people won’t have to depend on them to save their lives, but if it comes down to that they'll be happy they got them,” said Papelino.
He said American Red Cross Disaster Program Manager Melanie Pandich did an excellent job assisting with the event, and helped make this possible for the citizens of Norwich.
He added that in the future the Norwich Fire Department would like to extend the range of this event to cover the Town of Norwich as well, and officials are looking at possibly offering it again in the spring.
Individuals interested in learning more about the event may call the American Red Cross at (607) 785-7207.
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