After two children die in Chamois fire, Missouri Care donates $6,000 to give smoke alarms to locals

There’s an all-out effort to get smoke alarms into the hands of people who need them in Osage and Gasconade Counties.

Missouri Care and the city of Chamois announced their fire safety program Friday. Which comes after a Chamois family lost two children in a house fire last month.

A local Community Christian Church received a $6,000 donation from Missouri Care that will allow the Chamois Fire Department to install a smoke detector in each residence in the area. Assistant Fire Chief Sean Hackman said the donation, they can get more than 300 smoke detectors with 10-year, non-removable batteries. The smoke detectors will then be installed at no cost as needed by the Chamois Fire Department.

“The Fire Department has continued efforts to reach out to other distributors to obtain additional smoke detectors, to distribute to anyone that needs them,” said Hackman.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, three of every five home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Benefit organizer Scott Mertz who owns a local restaurant in town called The Haystack organized a fundraiser two weeks ago for the now family of four in Chamois. Mertz is also organizing a Chamois and Morrison Fire Department benefit on April 15 at The Haystack.

Mertz said the family has received more than $10,000 from the benefits. In addition to two storage units full of furniture, clothing and overall household items.

Of that donation, an anonymous check was given to the family for $2,500, and with the entire amount given, they were able to put the money toward a new home.