Free Smoke Detectors For Romeoville Residents

ROMEOVILLE, IL -- The American Red Cross of the Illinois River Valley is partnering with the Romeoville Fire Department to save lives by ensuring that working smoke alarms are installed for free in the Village of Romeoville.

“We are excited to partner with the Romeoville Fire Department to ensure home fire safety in the communities we jointly serve,” said Ken Cozzi, Executive Director of the American Red Cross of the Illinois River Valley. “Smoke alarms save lives. We encourage families to get prepared at home and learn about fire safety, in addition to checking that home smoke alarms are working. We want everyone in the Village of Romeoville to have access to smoke alarms.”

The American Red Cross of the Illinois River Valley is providing free, 10-year lithium ion smoke alarms and fire safety education materials and the Romeoville Fire Department will go to resident homes to install smoke alarms. Both the smoke alarm and installation are free of charge.

The Romeoville Fire Department will take appointments from residents in the Village of Romeoville. Carbon Monoxide detectors will also be available until supplies run out.

To schedule an appointment, please contact the fire department by calling 815-372-4045 or email fireprevention@romeoville.org. The fire department is taking calls now and until supplies run out.

FACTS ABOUT HOME FIRE SAFETY

Each year, the American Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters, the vast majority of which are home fires. In order to address this, the Red Cross set a goal to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries in the US by 25% by 2020.

On average:

• 7 people die every day from a home fire
• 36 people suffer injuries as a result of home fires every day
• Over $7 billion in property damage occurs every year

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR FAMILY

Residents can keep their family safe in the event of a home fire with two simple steps.

Step 1. Practice a 2-minute drill. Make sure family members can safely escape a home fire in under two minutes. Use our worksheets (found in the resource links below) to plan and prepare your 2-minute drill today.

Step 2. Test your smoke alarms monthly. Make sure you and your family are alerted as soon as a fire is detected. If the smoke alarm isn't working, change the batteries.

Learn more about how to prevent home fires and how to prepare your family to stay safe.

Submitted by the American Red Cross of the Illinois River Valley

Patch file photo