Montgomery County Fire and Rescue hands out free smoke alarms to those in need

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County Fire and Rescue often respond to emergencies, but Saturday they made an extra effort to try and prevent one.

Firefighters knocked on doors and dished out brand new smoke detectors to those who need them.

"If there is a smoke alarm we see that is not there or malfunctioning or out of date or changing a battery, we’ll do all the above," said Chief Corey Smedley with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.

Firefighter's visited Elizabeth Lake’s house in Aspen Hills. She says she's had the same smoke detector in her basement since she moved in 15 years ago.

"It was just beeping all throughout the night," said Lake who was pleasantly surprised when she was offered an upgrade. “I was like whoa. Really, I’m about to get one? And look now, I got one for free. I’m so grateful, thank you.”

“Smoke alarms work," said Smedley. "Smoke alarms have prevented death, and we just ask as simple as giving us a call so that we can help you so that you can get all the time you need to escape a dangerous situation.”

Every firehouse in Montgomery County was out doing something similar Saturday, giving people free smoke detectors and information about fire safety at town homes and condominium complexes. 

It's a call to action from Chief Smedley that comes a day after Montgomery County had its first fatal fire of 2024.

“Yesterday on the scene of the fatality, I was able to talk with the widow and that’s very difficult," said Smedley. "We’re doing everything we can to make sure we don’t see another fire fatality."

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue says an 80-year-old man was killed inside his Germantown house after a fire Friday morning.

They say the house didn’t have a working smoke detector.

“I can’t say that a smoke alarm would have prevented it, I’m saying a smoke alarm gives you extra time so that you can make decisions to evacuate the structure," said Smedley.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue encourages people in need of fire prevention help to visit its website.

They also say you should check your smoke alarm at home once a month and change its batteries every six months. If your smoke alarm is over ten years old, you should replace it.