New Detectors Installed as Part of Fire Prevention Week

Saturday's house fire on Great Plain Ave. reiterates the need to be adequately prepared for such an event and, to that end, the Needham Fire Department and the Needham Rotary Club are currently participating in Fire Prevention Week.

The theme of this year's initiative is "Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With." As they have for the past 21 years, Needham Rotarians are once again helping to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in town, a free service available to those who are unable to afford or install the devices themselves.

In addition to installations, the Rotary Club and Fire Dept. would like to remind other residents to check the detectors they already have, as it could be the difference between a safe home and a dangerous one.

"It is quite possible that many residents are using smoke detectors which are out dated," Fire Chief Paul Buckley said. "Many detectors are only rated for ten years, but the majority of people don't realize that, or simply don't know how old their units are."

Buckley related that many technological improvements have been made in relation to smoke detectors over the last ten years. Many detectors now utilize technology that can differentiate between certain levels of smoke allowing them to react faster to fire related smoke and reduce the number of false alarms that simple cooking can trigger.

"All too often people will disconnect a detector or remove the battery due to these problems, but they forget to replace the battery which reduces their ability to detect a fire," Buckley said.

The death of an elderly Needham resident prompted the Rotary Club to begin its installation service in 1989. Since that time the club has installed over 1,000 smoke detectors in town. In recent years they have been installing carbon monoxide detectors, as well. The Rotary Club purchases the detectors and then trains members to install and check batteries in existing models.

"As for carbon monoxide alarms, the law is fairly new and went into effect in 2006, so many people simply don't know that there are regulations which require them on every floor of your home and within ten feet of the bedroom doors," Buckley said.

Despite the regulations in place, though, the Fire Dept. can only enforce the adoption of carbon monoxide detectors if a home is being sold or a if a building permit is taken out. It is up to the homeowner, in most cases, to make sure that he or she is properly equipped to detect carbon monoxide, which kills an average of 500 people in the US each year and hospitalizing over 20,000.

Homeowners who have questions regarding detectors and where they should be installed can contact the Fire Prevention Office at 781-455-7580. To set a time to have a Rotarian come by and install a smoke or carbon monoxide detector, or have batteries replaced, call the Needham Fire Department at 781-455-7580 or fill out a request form at the Senior Center.