In honor of October being Fire Prevention Month, a local fire department is doing their part in making Union households safer by giving out free smoke detectors.
Fire Chief Dale Yates and the Union Volunteer Fire Department will be providing the free fire safety devices until their supplies run out.
“We have a supply of smoke detectors to hand out, but there are some stipulations,” said Yates. “We’re handing out one detector per household, the household must be within the Union Fire District, and the fire department has to install the smoke detector in the home.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, smoke detectors play a huge part in saving lives of victims of home structure fires. In reported residential fires from 2014-2018, smoke alarms were present in 74% of those fires. Close to three out of five home fire deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms (41%) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16%).
The NFPA also states that death rates per 1,000 homes structure fires is 55 percent lower in homes with working smoke alarms than in homes with no alarms or alarms that fail to operate.
If you live within the Union Fire District and are interested in a free smoke alarm, call the Union City Hall at 601-774-9422 and leave your name, address, and phone number.
