Sharon fire department offering to install free smoke alarms

After a family was displaced from a home and a nine-year-old was severely injured in a house fire back in February, fire officials are doing what they can to make sure others are safe.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 10, crews responded to a home on Euclid Avenue. Fire officials said a space heater started a fire in a bedroom on the third floor. A child was sleeping in the room and suffered injuries before being rescued. Sharon Fire Deparment’s Chief Deputy Nick Samson, said the room where the fire started didn't have a working smoke alarm on the ceiling.

“I’m convinced that, had that smoke alarm been there it would have woken him up and it would’ve given him plenty of opportunity to escape that room,” Samson said.

In a partnership with the American Red Cross, the department is installing up to three free smoke alarms to homeowners or renters in the city. The goal is to give families more of a heads up to get to safety, if a fire breaks out.

“It can be a tragedy for someone. When you think of disaster you think of those big hurricanes but a home fire can be just as much as a disaster to the family that's experiencing that,” Cristina Maisel, of the American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region said.

“We advocate for a smoke alarm on every floor of the home so basement, first floor, second floor, if it’s an occupied attic and we also want to make sure that there's a smoke alarm in every room where someone is sleeping,” Samson said.

Samson adds that smoke alarms need to be replaced after 10 years and should be UL certified, meaning they are tested in a third party lab to ensure they will work properly in an emergency.

“As a fire service it’s our mission to save lives, protect property,” Samson said. “We can do that very, very effectively through the prevention of having fires at our house.”

The department has already installed more than 150 alarms. 

To request a free smoke detector, homeowners or renters can call the Sharon Fire Department at (724) 509-1014 or download the city's community connect app and request a smoke alarm installation.