ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — Four family members were killed on the Northshore just last month, because of a fire that started outside their home.
They did not have working smoke alarms.
The Eden Isle home caught fire overnight on Jan. 19. Since then, firefighters say they've received an influx of calls asking for free installation. Firefighters say not having a working smoke detector is the case for many of the fatal fires they investigate.
They put out the plea for anyone that needed a smoke detector to reach out, and the demand has been overwhelming.
One fire department in St. Tammany has partnered with local businesses to fulfill those requests.
Within the past two weeks, Fire Chief Chris Kaufmann says their crews have installed more than 320 smoke detectors in homes across the parish.
"We couldn't find a smoke detector on a shelf in Slidell three days after this incident," Kaufmann said. "You couldn't go to a hardware store for one. People were buying. There's no telling how many individual smoke detectors were put in. There were also a lot of battery sales. It has been the biggest smoke detector awareness campaign since I've been employed almost 34 years."
If you don't have a smoke detector or need to replace the ones you have, you can get them installed for free.
The help comes through a program called "Operation Save a Life."
Firefighters go to your home and install a smoke detector at no cost.
All you have to do is look up the nearest fire station and give them a call to request one.
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