TRAVERSE CITY -- The local Home Depot in Traverse City donated 2,500 Kidde 10-year sealed lithium battery smoke alarms to Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department and Traverse City Fire Department Saturday, to support the area’s Smoke Alarm Project.
It's part of a national partnership between the National Fire Protection Association teamed up with The Home Depot and Kidde to help raise awareness of fire safety nationwide.
The project is a five year program to ensure that all residents in Grand Traverse have at least 2 working smoke alarms. These smoke alarms will be installed free of charge to residents in need as a part of the Fire Departments’ Smoke Alarm Project.
“Nearly 20 percent of homes in the U.S. have smoke alarms that don’t work. This program will benefit hundreds of families in our area by providing long-life smoke alarms that offer maintenance-free protection for ten years. The recipients never need to remember to replace the battery because it’s sealed inside the unit, and will last the life of the alarm,” said Traverse City Fire Marshal Mike Sheets.
According to NFPA, the majority of fire deaths occur in homes where there are no smoke alarms or no working smoking alarms, mainly due to dead (aged) or missing batteries or age of alarm.
Traverse City Home Depot Store Manager Andy Dickinson says, “This program will not only get smoke alarms to families that need them, it will also remind families about having enough working smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms throughout their home”.
Also at the Fire Safety event in Traverse City Saturday, Fire crews were promoting the "Be a hero, Save a hero," is a campaign spearheaded by Kidde in partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Help the Good Guys, a nonprofit that's dedicated to helping the families of injured and fallen firefighters.
The initiative urges homeowners to log on to www.alarmpledge.com and promises to ensure their home has enough up-to-date and working smoke alarms. The pledge also encourages families to create and practice a home fire escape plan. For each pledge, Kidde will make a donation to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation or Help the Good Guys all the way up to $10,000 for each organization.
