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The LaGrange Fire Department is looking for volunteers to help install smoke alarms in the community. 

“We are doing a smoke alarm blitz,” said LFD Sgt. Mike Webb. “We are going into neighborhoods and going door-to-door asking if they need smoke alarms. If they have them, we will check batteries and if they need them we will install them.” 

The fire department is partnering with the American Red Cross of Central Midwest Georgia for its Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, beginning with the blitz on Saturday, March 28. 

The ARC is providing all the smoke alarms for free. 

“It is free of charge,” Webb said. “There is no cost to citizens, and we put up the ones with a 10 year battery, so there is no need for change for a while.” 

The fire department needs volunteers to go with them to help install the alarms. 

“We can’t do it all on our own,” Webb said. “We will pair citizens with someone from the fire department so that everybody has somebody in their group that knows what is going on.” 

Webb said they will visit the areas of Northwest LaGrange including, Ridley Avenue, Easy Street, New Franklin road area and Mooty Bridge Road area.

“When we did this a few years ago, there was a family of about six or seven that had been saved because we had been by there to install a smoke alarm,” Webb said. “The smoke alarm went off and alerted them and gave them time to get out. Us going by there and putting in that smoke alarm was a direct result of them being able to get out of that house.” 

LFD and volunteers will meet at LaGrange Fire Department Headquarters at 115 Hill Street at 8:30 a.m. on March 28 to go over the event. 

According to Webb, they will need about 40 volunteers to make it a successful event. 

“They are really easy to set up,” Webb said. “We will supply everyone with a cordless drill. You just run two screws in the ceiling that plate mounts on and the smoke detector just twists in. They will have an instructional meeting on what to say and do when arriving at a house.” 

The blitz will run until 2:30 p.m. and lunch will be provided. Webb said it is imperative that they get smoke alarms in as many people’s homes as they can. 

“In the case of a fire, it gives you that extra time to get out,” Webb said. “It could and has saved lives.” 

To register, contact Sarah Wynn at (706) 884-5818 or sarah.wynn@redcross.org.