Local fire companies and the American Red Cross have been working to make sure Middletown residents have working smoke detectors over the past year.
The Red Cross partnered with the volunteer fire departments in Middletown to distribute and install smoke detectors in designated areas. William Penn Fire Company’s district includes the Cobalt Ridge section of Levittown. On Saturday morning, seven crews made their way around the neighborhood helping make homes safer.
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Bill and Carol Jacoby live on Crystal Place and were the recipients of the free service. One of their smoke detectors had not been changed in more than 10 years and went bad. Getting older made checking and changing the detectors more difficult, so having the fire department and the Red Cross come along to change their detector was a huge boost.
“We are absolutely happy for this and for the help. This is wonderful,” Carol Jacoby said.
“We are still finding people who don’t have smoke detectors,” explained Jim Bampfield, the deputy chief of the William Penn Fire Company. “It’s just nice to come out and educate the people.”
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The Red Cross’ involvement stems from a national program dedicated to distributing smoke alarms. The goal for Saturday’s distribution, according to Ashley McElhare from the fire marshal’s office, was between 100 and 200 detectors distributed. Local Red Cross volunteers were out and present with firefighters distributing and installing detectors.
In May, a smoke detector installed earlier this year by the Red Cross and Parkland Fire Company helped alert a family that their home was ablaze. Crews were able to quickly get to the scene and stop the fire before any injuries happened.
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