Free smoke alarms for all Jackson County homeowners
Free smoke alarms are available to all Jackson County homeowners through a new safety program from the State Fire Marshal’s Office. To receive a new smoke alarm, residents just need to call their local fire department to register.
The smoke alarms are available to all homeowners but priority will be given to low income households, the elderly, disabled, and families’ with children under 14 years old. A $500,000 federal grant is making the program possible in an effort to reduce the number of fire related deaths throughout Mississippi.
“Mississippi still ranks as the worst state in the nation in the number of fire related deaths per capita. The most troubling part, many of these deaths were preventable if a smoke alarm had been working,” Watson said.
Sixty-five percent of “home fire deaths” resulted from “fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms” according to a recent report from the National Fire Protection Association.
The free smoke alarms are high quality from a nationally respected fire prevention company and each has a 10 year battery. Additionally, the alarm is equipped with a “hush” button to silence the alarm in case of an unintentional alarm. This same smoke alarm would cost $20 at the local hardware store.
The alarms will be installed by uniformed firefighters, wearing identification and driving official vehicles. A list of every participating fire department in Jackson County is below.
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“This
is a first come, first serve
program,” Ray Watson, Jackson
County’s Fire District Coordinator
explains. “After you register, a
firefighter from your local
department will come to your home
and install as many alarms as needed
at no cost. Homeowners will be asked
to fill out a short safety
survey/waiver form.”