A Delaware State Fire Marshal Office program is working to save lives by installing wired smoke detectors in homes of elderly, poor and disabled homeowners.
Kicked off in October, Delaware fire officials have installed the devices in 120 homes after launching the program with $500,000 from the state’s tobacco settlement fund.
The state pays local contractors to install the detectors for those who request the service.
Designed for people who may have difficulty with the twice-annual smoke detector maintenance and testing, the detectors have a battery backup in case of an electrical outage.
Florida and Ohio also have enacted similar smoke detector programs.
Delaware Fire Marshal Willard F. Preston III told The News Journal that smoke detectors are imperative in preventing fatalities and serious fire damage to homes. In fact, working smoke detectors were missing from five of the nine fatal fires Delaware has experienced this year.
