Volunteers Install 700 Smoke Alarms in Aftermath of Deadly Tragedy

Volunteers this weekend gave out and installed about 700 smoke alarms at homes in San Juan Capistrano’s La Zanja neighborhood, authorities said today.

The effort on Saturday by 90 volunteers, including firefighters, equipped about 200 dwellings with smoke alarms in a neighborhood whose residents are still mourning a fire last January that killed three people and seriously injured six others in home that had no working smoke detectors, said Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority, which spearheaded the giveaway.

It was the second such distribution this year. About 700 smoke alarms were given away and installed on Feb. 21, Concialdi said.

Alarms were installed in each home’s bedroom and in the hallways leading to the bedrooms, he said.

“Smoke alarms save lives,” Concialdi said. “They provide those crucial extra seconds when fires start.”

As an example, he said a home in Santa Ana where a fire broke out 16 hours after June’s deadly blaze resulted in no injuries as smoke alarms in the dwelling alerted eight people who got out safely.

The smoke alarms were among 5,000 donated to the OCFA by fire safety equipment manufacturer Kidde to be distributed to communities in need, Concialdi.

Although he deemed Saturday’s effort a success, Concialdi said he was surprised by how many homes were without smoke alarms.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the date of the fatal condo fire.

• City News Service
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