Firefighters give away free smoke detectors
Jefferson City firefighters handed out free smoke detectors on Wednesday night.
October is Fire Prevention Month and Lowe’s Home Improvement donated 150 detectors to the department to distribute to the public.
Every year, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths are in homes with no smoke detectors or ones that don’t work.
One homeowner told ABC 17 News he disabled his device nearly 20 years ago.
“It’s actually pretty common, we see people disabling the device,” said Capt. Matt Schofield. “It’s such a simple piece of technology but it’s critical that they get that early warning of smoke.”
Lowe’s also donated smoke detectors to the fire department in Holts Summit. Those will be distributed through the end of October.
