Birmingham Fire and Rescue is installing free smoke alarms in the Kingston borough

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – If you live in the Kingston neighborhood, you may have seen Birmingham Fire and Rescue going door to door installing smoke alarms in homes.

Officials say these devices save lives and hope that by taking some time each weekend to install a few in Birmingham, more people will be inspired to install them in their own homes.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue say having a working smoke alarm in every home in Birmingham is a personal goal. Every weekend they will go to a different neighborhood installing smoke alarms at no cost.

“Smoke alarms save lives, they are free to the community. In terms of outreach, we’d rather set off a smoke alarm than respond to a house fire,” says BFRS Capt. Orlando Reynolds.

On Saturday, the department spent the afternoon installing 10 alarms in homes in the Kingston area, including Brenda Holifield’s.

“This is your first warning that something might be going on in your home and it gives you an opportunity to wake up. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Holifield said.

The move is part of Birmingham Fire’s Operation SAFE programme, which stands for Stopping Accidental Fires Through Education.

“A lot of people still don’t understand that we’re doing this, so we’re trying to keep getting the message out there to let people know about smoke alarms that, one, they save lives, two, we want to make sure that every home in the city of Birmingham has at least one ” said Captain Reynolds.

Neighbors believe the more people see the department in action, the more will sign up to receive alarms of their own.

“Opportunity comes when there is no cost. Unfortunately, not many take advantage of the program, so seeing Birmingham Fire and Rescue in the community, maybe others will be curious, want to know what’s going on,” Holifield said.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue also want everyone to know that you don’t have to wait for them to visit your neighbourhood. If you live within the Birmingham city limits, you can contact your local station and install a smoke alarm in your own home for free.

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