Grant to provide smoke alarms in Tecumseh

The Tecumseh Fire Department and the Pottawatomie County Health Department have announced the receipt of a grant that will provide 750 smoke alarms for Tecumseh residents.
The free smoke alarm project will kick off at 8:30 a.m. Saturday as local firefighters, health department staff members and volunteers work throughout Tecumseh to install smoke alarms and provide educational materials. The project is an effort led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Injury Prevention Services to increase the number of working smoke alarms in Tecumseh homes.
“This project is critical to the health and safety of our residents,” said Aaron Williams, Tecumseh Fire Department assistant chief. “In 2008 alone, we have responded to more than 500 inferno calls and have had lives lost. This issue is serious.”
Several locations have been selected for the project. More than 50 firefighters and volunteers will go door to door in an effort to provide smoke alarms to those who need them.
“Our goal is to provide as many smoke alarms as possible,” said Tina R. Johnson, administrative director of the Pottawatomie County Health Department. “We know that fire-related deaths and injuries could be prevented if homes had working smoke alarms.”
For more information on the free smoke alarm project, call Williams at 598-2222 or Johnson at 273-2157, or go online to http://pottawatomie.health.ok.gov.