Firefighters Install Free Smoke Alarms

LEXINGTON, KY: The Lexington Fire Department says it was able to save people twice this week thanks to smoke alarms.

Today, firefighters knocked on hundreds of doors – offering people a life saving tool for free.

“It was surprising and alarming how many people don’t have operational smoke alarms but now it’s ok, that’s why we’re here, that’s why we’re doing it,” said Major Jordan Saas, Lexington Fire Department.

It’s downtown smoke alarm safety day and the Lexington Fire Department is hoping to visit about a thousand homes and offer free smoke alarm installations.

Luckily, they visited Maria’s home because her smoke alarms were 15 years old.

She says it’s hard to remember to change them so she’s grateful for the help.

“These people were very nice, and very helpful, and I really appreciate this opportunity,” said Maria Yosifova, Lexington Resident.

In 2017, six fires in Fayette County ended with people dying and Saas says they could’ve been prevented.

On May 20th of last year, Saas responded to a fire with a family of 4 inside and none of them survived.

“It’s something I’ll never forget watching 12-15 firefighters doing CPR on civilians in the front yard because they did not have operational smoke alarms,” said Saas.

Saas says your smoke alarms should be hard wired so when one goes off, they all will.

He also says you need one in every bedroom and one on every level.

If you need an installation, the fire department does it for free every day of the year.

Lexington firefighters say last year they installed more than 750 smoke alarms in almost 200 homes in one neighborhood.