YORKANA, Pa. — The Yorkana Borough Fire Department went into the community Monday not to extinguish, but to educate.
The department began its "Sound the Alarm" campaign by canvassing the borough's neighborhoods with information about smoke detectors. The campaign will continue into Saturday, March 30 when the department and the local chapter of the American Red Cross install free smoke detectors in the homes of those who need them.
The campaign was created by Deputy Fire Chief Don Hopple, who was inspired by recent house fires in the area, including a February fire in York that killed three people. Investigators later determined that there were no working smoke detectors in the home.
"It just got to a point where we'd like to be proactive and do this program ahead of time before something like that happens in our town," Hopple said. "Our goal is to get working smoke detectors in the homes within Yorkana Borough and surrounding homes as well. Not just in the borough."
A briefing for residents interested in the free smoke detectors will be held Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at the Yorkana Fire Department, with installations taking place afterward. Hopple says that even if one fire death is prevented by the campaign, it will be worth it.
"We may never know the number that we may have saved," Hopple said. "Even if one life is saved, we won. That's a win-win."
Almost two-thirds of fire deaths occur in homes without working smoke detectors. The Red Cross says smoke detectors can reduce the risk of fire deaths by 50%.