TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Topeka Fire Department (TFD) hosted an outreach event in north Topeka following a fatal fire over Labor Day weekend.
On Wednesday, firefighters went door to door with what they call “Knock and Talk.” City officials said they checked on residents’ smoke detectors, educated them about smoke detector safety and gave them the option of having the fire crews properly install them.
27 News talked to the Chief of Topeka Fire Department Chad Longstaff who emphasized the free important service. The last time this service was offered was in 2017, and he said they plan on bringing it back.
“We’re trying to do is get out in the community and let people know that these are free,” Longstaff said. “We collaborate with Red Cross and what better thing to do is have a fireman come in and install them for you.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), when working smoke alarms are present in your home, the risk of dying in a house fire is cut by 60%. According to the NFPA, roughly three out of five deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
“I have the concern of fire, said Topeka city councilperson Christina Valdivia-Alcala. “When you’re looking at older structures that may be more run down, where there may be squatting, vacant properties that may have squatting and we see that Shawnee County and I think actually for our municipality we have one of the higher fire level rates across the state.”
Emporia elementary school closing next academic year
To find out more information about TFD’s Smoke Alarm Program, including how people can request free smoke alarm installations, click here.
For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.
Follow Ben Nash on Facebook : https://tinyurl.com/KSNTBenNash
