Safety First: 1,500 smoke alarms donated to MCFRS through partnership

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WDVM) — It’s about that time of the year where many start celebrating the holidays, whether it’s by cooking or putting up decorations. Because of that, fire officials want to be sure safety measures are put in place.

A total of 1,500 smoke alarms were donated through a partnership between Lowes, Pepco, and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. Fire crews set up a ‘curbside’ area to receive Pepco’s donation. In Maryland, all residents must have updated smoke alarms, which have longer lifespans. The devices donated all have batteries sealed inside that are expected to last for 10 years. Crews regularly check smoke alarms while educating residents on the importance of making sure alarms are properly working.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Chief, Scott Goldstein said, “That will provide us the opportunity to have those as we go on all of our apparatus. We check every residence, every call, to ensure everybody has a working smoke alarm.”

Pete Pedersen of the Pepco Emergency Preparedness Program stated, “We realize that this is just a small part of how we help them, but again, it’s one of those things, over the last 16 years, that we’ve been very proud to be apart of.”

The county just had a fatal fire over the weekend that left one person dead. It is not confirmed whether smoke alarms were properly working.