The Spalding County Fire Department has been awarded a grant that will assist with the Smoke Detector Program. The award letter, stated, “it is with great pleasure that the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation (GFBF) and the review committee take this opportunity to congratulate the Spalding County Fire Department as being a recipient of the 2015 Chesney Fallen Firefighters Memorial Grant Award, in the amount of $1500 to support the local fire safety/burn prevention efforts in your community.

The grant will provide for 16 bedside fire alarms that will be available to assist the hearing impaired. The bedside fire alarms are equipped to alert residents who may be hearing impaired. The alarms can be equipped with a bed shaker attachment and an the alarm has an enhanced low pitch alarm that has been shown to be more effective for waking and alerting individuals with hearing loss. Alarm sounds from properly working smoke detectors activate the bedside alarm system.

Spalding County Fire Chief Kenny West has expressed his appreciation to the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation for the grant award and stated, “While the smoke detector program at the Spalding County Fire Department has been an ongoing program for many years, the opportunity to be able to offer bedside fire alarms with the capability to alert the hearing impaired will only enhance the current program that we currently offer.”

The Spalding County Fire Department views the Smoke Detector Program as a collaborative way to offer a service to the citizens of Spalding County. The fire safety education that encompasses the Smoke Detector Program allows for our citizens to be prepared in the event of a fire in their home, and provides other ways that families can be prepared. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), “Three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.” Thus, our Smoke Detector Program works tirelessly to educate our citizens about smoke detectors and provide them to families that otherwise could not provide one for themselves.

For more information, contact Spalding County Fire Department at (770)228-2129.