Skokie F.D. Honored For Providing Smoke Alarms To At-Risk Homes

From The Village of Skokie:On February 12, 2019, the Skokie Fire Department was recognized by the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance (IFSA) and Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) for the Department’s outstanding contributions to fire safety education and installation of smoke alarms within the Village of Skokie over the past year.

At the beginning of 2018, the nonprofit IFSA and OSFM launched the Be Alarmed! smoke alarm installation program, a fire safety education and smoke alarm installation initiative administered cooperatively between the two organizations. The program distributes fire safety educational materials and 10-year, concealed-battery smoke alarms to participating fire departments in the state of Illinois. Departments then distribute the educational materials and install smoke alarms in at-risk homes within their communities. Both the educational materials and smoke alarms are provided to fire departments at no cost as a result of funding from both the IFSA and OSFM.

“We are excited to be able to partner with the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance and State Fire Marshal’s Office in providing these 10-year battery smoke alarms to our residents,” said Skokie Fire Department Deputy Chief Kathleen Furgala. “Fire can spread through a home in a matter of minutes, and smoke alarms can give residents the warning needed to get out safely.”

“We want to make sure residents have functional smoke alarms in their homes, as well as the information to develop their own fire escape plans,” said State Fire Marshal Matt Perez. “These are tools proven to save lives, because even one fire death is one too many.”

The alarms through the Be Alarmed! program are free to community residents, but must be installed by trained fire department personnel. “The Skokie Fire Department did a tremendous job educating their residents on fire safety in 2018,” said Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Executive Director Philip Zaleski. “In total, the Skokie Fire Department installed 168 10-year battery smoke alarms in 50 homes as a result of their participation in the Be Alarmed! program.”

For additional details on the Village of Skokie Fire Department’s in-home fire safety inspection and smoke alarm installation programs, contact the Department at 847/982-4700, or via email to smokedetectorprogram@skokie.org.

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