Sweat dripping from their foreheads, Lake County firefighters went door to door making sure residents of the Montverde Mobile Home Park had proper smoke detectors and a plan in case disaster strikes.
The 37 smoke detectors were donated by the American Red Cross as part of an ongoing program to help elderly and low-income residents install new detectors. At each home along the way, firefighters drilled in the new detectors while Alex Glenn, who works as a disaster- workforce specialist for the Red Cross, questioned what the homeowner would do if a fire engulfed the home or if a hurricane threatened damage.
Firefighters across Central Florida with the help of the Red Cross will continue to install dozens of smoke detectors by the end of the year in communities in hopes of keeping residents safe during the holidays. With lit Christmas trees, candles and cooking more popular during the holiday season, the risks of a fire starting are greater.
“You never know when disaster will strike,” Glenn said. “People often forget about replacing the batteries in their smoke detectors but that alert gives you an extra minute or two, which could mean the difference between life and death.”
Also aimed at making a difference is a new state law that took effect in January changing the requirements for smoke detectors. New detectors have to be equipped with 10-year lithium batteries as part of an effort to save lives. Red Cross volunteers recently visited homes in Lake, Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Volusia counties to install more than 150 alarms.
According to the Red Cross, having a working smoke detector doubles one’s chance of survival in a fire. But people need to react quickly—the average time a person has to vacate is about two minutes. The goal of the program is to reduce the number of deaths in fires by 25 percent before 2020.
Lake County Fire Marshal Mike Vitta said the long-lasting batteries are a tremendous improvement. He said he’s seen plenty of buildings and homes that either had a malfunctioning smoke detector or one with batteries that didn’t work become engulfed by fire.
“It’s easy to forget to replace batteries, so these detectors will eliminate the need to replace them and keep people safe for a very long time,” Vitta said. “I see it too often, unfortunately, that a home goes up in flames and their smoke detector didn’t go off because it didn’t have working batteries.”
At Montverde Mobile Home Park, Mary Ryder recalled seeing at least three mobile-homes go up in flames in the 30 years she’s lived there. Still, she hadn’t thought about replacing her smoke detector. The 85-year-old said it’s hard for her to reach the alarm and replace batteries.
When Lake County and Montverde firefighters passed around fliers to residents asking if they’d like them to install one, she jumped on it.
“I’ve seen what fires can do. The homes went down in no time,” she said. “It means a lot that they did this here for us. A lot of us feel forgotten, so seeing them out here is just wonderful and means a lot that they care about our well being.”
Another neighbor, Doris Reigle, 84, said she’d been in a fire when she was a young girl. Fire is one of her biggest fears.
“I’m very grateful that they offered to do this. With the holidays approaching, I feel there’s more of a chance for fires starting because of the lights and all the cooking,” Reigle said. “This makes me feel safer.”
Red Cross volunteers have installed more than 4,500 smoke alarms and handed out about 2,200 escape plans in Central Florida throughout the year. The agency plans to continue the program next year in an effort to keep residents safe and prevent death in fires.
chayes@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5936