The Holidays Are Here, Time to Test Your Smoke Detector

In preparation for the coming holidays, the Easley Fire Department has been working to remind residents to test smoke detectors before the holidays.

National Fire Prevention Week was held in October and for nearly two weeks after that the Easley Fire Department was visiting older homes in the community to test the batteries in their smoke detectors and the detectors themselves.

If a battery needs a replacement, the firefighters will replace it. If a resident needs a new smoke detector but can't afford one, the department will install a new one.

"These subdivisions already have wired-in smoke detectors, so we try to hit the older parts of town that have the manual smoke detectors which are battery-operated," Chief Butch Womack said.

Firefighters visit homes on different streets in Easley's older neighborhoods each year. Womack said the department may not hit every single home, but their presence in the neighborhood will get people talking.

"They inspected 504 alarms, they installed 145 new smoke detectors, and replaced 290 batteries this year," City Administrator Fox Simons reported during last week's city council meeting.

The department raises money throughout the year by collecting recyclable aluminum cans and using the proceeds to purchase batteries and smoke detectors. Residents can assist the department by dropping off cans at Station 1 located at 1039 S. Pendleton St. and Station 3 located at 640 Powdersville Road.

"The city funds some but this helps us fund more," Womack said.

By making sure smoke detectors are in good working order homeowners can minimize the damage caused by fire. Holidays can be an especially dangerous time of year due to the amount of cooking and added lighting from holiday decorations.

South Carolina ranked in the top 15 nationally for cooking-related fire damage according to State Farm records from 2005-2010. The biggest culprit in those fires was grease fires caused by turkey fryers.

"We think it's doing us a lot of good because our fires are down," Womack said. "Our call volume is not down but our fire calls are down."

City Administrator Fox Simons said the department inspected 504 alarms during the two week period this year.

"If someone comes in tomorrow and doesn't have a smoke detector in their house we will go out there and put one up for them at no charge," Womack said.

This service only applies to single-family homeowners not investment properties. If a rental unit doesn't have a working smoke detectors the tenant should contact the landlord immediately.

For more information about the Easley Fire Department, visit their website. To find out more about the smoke detector program call the department's administrative office at 864-859-8950.