For Immediate Release

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Great Barrington Fire Department Partners with American Red Cross to Install Smoke Detectors Throughout Town

GREAT BARRINGTON – Chief Charles Burger is pleased to announce that the Great Barrington Fire Department partnered with the American Red Cross to provide free smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors to residents last week.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Great Barrington firefighters installed smoke and CO detectors in 18 houses throughout town as part of the American Red Cross Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, which aims to reduce the number of deaths and injuries from fires by 25 percent by 2020.

Additionally, as part of the campaign, members of the American Red Cross worked with the Great Barrington Fire Department to educate residents about fire safety while firefighters installed the smoke and CO detectors. Since launching the campaign in 2014, the American Red Cross, working with fire departments throughout the country, has installed more than 700,000 smoke detectors.

“This is a great program and I’m glad Great Barrington is able to take advantage of it,” Chief Burger said. “We have seen smoke and CO detectors save lives many times and witnessed the damage that can be done when they are not present in a home. I can’t stress enough how important it is that all residents have working detectors in their houses.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, on average, seven people die in U.S. home fires per day, and three out of five home fire deaths happen in homes with no working smoke alarms.

“I’m glad to see a great response from Great Barrington residents,” said Sky Goodrich, the lead volunteer from the Red Cross assisting with the program. “We had an extremely productive day installing detectors and we look forward to coming back to town.”

The Great Barrington Fire Department will be installing more smoke and CO detectors throughout town in the near future. Residents who are interested in receiving a free device as part of the American Red Cross Home Fire Preparedness Campaign must have a house built prior to 1975 that does not have hard wired detectors.

Those who would like to set up an appointment should call the Great Barrington Fire Department at 413-528-0788.

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