PRESS RELEASE
Junes 5, 2015
Free Smoke Detectors Available
Jones County Department of Fire Rescue
Most people don’t realize that fire claims nearly 4,000 lives a year across the United States. More than 75% of these deaths occur in the homes where we live. Recent studies indicate that smoke alarms are present in 46% of all homes nationwide. However, 65% of fire related deaths have occurred in homes with no smoke alarms present or those that were not operational.
With that being said, Jones County Department of Fire Rescue and its members are launching a program to assist residents within Jones County that are unable to afford a smoke detector in their home. Jones County Fire Chief and EMA Director Don Graham said that a grant was obtain through Tri-County EMC Operation Roundup Program, generous donations by Ace Hardware of Gray and Jones County Fire Rescue Fund. Graham said 400 First Alert Smoke & Fire Alarms have been purchased and will be available upon request. Residents should make a formal request by calling Jones County EMA Office at 478-986-6672 Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Residents making a request should be able to produce an address, contact name and phone number. One free smoke detector (per floor) will be installed at no charge by Jones County Firefighters Monday thru Friday between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Before installation is complete the resident(s) or homeowner(s) will be required to sign a waiver that will require them to take full responsibility of maintaining and ownership of the detector.
In 2015 alone, Jones County Department of Fire Rescue have already responded to more than a dozen structure fires in Jones County. Chief Graham said that over half of these structures involved residential dwellings. Out of the six dwelling fires, two of them had smoke detectors. Graham added, the residential dwellings that had smoke detectors paid off big time by saving five lives. These lives were well documented that a single smoke detector saved a family of four and a family of one. These two families each were alerted quickly by a functional smoke detector while they were asleep and were able to escape harm’s way. Smoke detectors truly save lives, Graham said.
Chief Graham said that while our fire personnel are installing your smoke detector(s), our personnel will be glad to assist with friendly advice regarding smoke detectors and any other fire safety concerns.
Don Graham, Fire Chief