Westchester Fire Department Installs 100th Smoke Alarm as Part of the Be Alarmed Program
On May 8, 2024, Firefighter/Paramedic Brandon Basek installed the 100th smoke alarm since the Westchester Fire Department joined the “Be Alarmed” Program in December of 2022. Since then, firefighters have installed 102 smoke alarms in Westchester homes at no cost to residents. “Be Alarmed!” is a fire safety education and smoke alarm installation program administered cooperatively between Camp I Am Me (CIAM) and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM).
The program distributes fire safety education materials and 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms to fire departments in the state of Illinois. The fire departments then deliver the education while installing smoke alarms in at-risk homes within their communities. Both the educational materials and smoke alarms are provided at no cost as a result of funding from both the CIAM and OSFM. The program was developed to educate Illinois residents on the dangers of fire in the home and how to prevent fires from occurring in the home, as well as to ensure there are working smoke alarms properly installed in homes. By providing 10-year concealed battery smoke alarms, it ensures that the power source cannot be removed from the unit and, if properly maintained, will last the life of the device.
Westchester Fire Chief Mike Mavrogeorge truly believes smoke alarms save lives, “During my career, time and time again, during fatal fires, we have found no working smoke alarms in the residence. With the materials used in new home construction, home products, and furniture today, fires burn so much hotter and faster and the time you have to escape your home is much less than in the past. Smoke alarms are the most cost effective way to increase your chances of survival during a home fire.” According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), “Fire spreads fast—working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly. Roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. More than one-third (38 percent) of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present.” Having the smoke alarms is critical, but it is also important to know the smoke alarms in your home actually work, so test them in the spring and fall; and once an alarm is 10 years old, it should be replaced.
If you are a Westchester resident and you need smoke alarms installed in your home, please contact the Westchester Fire Department at (708) 345-0433 or email Niki LoCoco nlococo@westchester-il.gov