Baltimore City residents now have access to a new tool that will help protect them and the firefighters who serve their communities in the event of a fire. On Friday, the Baltimore City Fire Department received 1,000 smoke alarms for their free distribution program thanks to the efforts of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) in cooperation with Kidde Fire Safety (Kidde) and a grant from Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE). Click here to see video from the event: youtu.be/me-Zhvfh3Jc
Photos by MyBGE
By simply calling 3-1-1 residents can request a free smoke alarm with a 10-year sealed-in lithium battery. City firefighters will arrive to install the smoke alarms and provide information about fire prevention.
Following a deadly fire in 2012, Chief Ronald Siarnicki, executive director of the NFFF, contacted the city’s Fire Chief James Clack to offer assistance. Learning that the city was running low on smoke alarms, the Foundation, through its Be A Hero, Save A HeroSM program, applied for and received a $10K public safety grant from BGE.
“The goal of the Foundation’s Be A Hero, Save A HeroSM program is to encourage the public to be proactive about fire prevention and fire safety,” explained Siarnicki. “We are grateful to BGE for this grant and to Kidde for their assistance in providing the alarms at a reduced rate.”
The Foundation worked with Kidde to purchase the company’s long-life sealed smoke alarms, each of which contains a sealed-in lithium battery proven to continuously power the alarm for ten years, without ever having to replace the battery. According to the National Fire Protection Association, 2/3rd of all home fire deaths occur in homes with either no smoke alarm or no working alarm, which is mainly due to dead or missing batteries.
“Kidde was very pleased to work with the NFFF to help provide these smoke alarms to the City of Baltimore,” said Neal Zipser, community affairs manager of Kidde, the leading manufacturer of residential fire safety products. “Alarms with sealed-in long-life batteries are always on, ready to provide warning in the event of a fire. That warning offers families the chance to escape safely, which also helps protect responding firefighters.”
Chief Clack received the alarms at an event at Engine Company 13 in Baltimore City. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake, Chief Siarnicki, Mr. Zipser, and BGE President/CEO Kenneth W. DeFontes, Jr. were also on hand.
For more information about fire prevention and to take the Be A Hero, Save A HeroSM pledge, go to www.beaherosaveahero.org/alarm-pledge.
