Goldbug VFD giving away, installing free smoke detectors

If you live in the Goldbug area and don’t have a smoke alarm but want one, then you are in luck.

The Goldbug Volunteer Fire Department is giving out free smoke alarms courtesy of a partnership with the American Red Cross.

Tabitha Pfoutz, a member of the fire department’s fire prevention team, said that people living in the fire department’s coverage area can contact the fire department to schedule an appointment to have a smoke alarm installed.

“We go through a five minute spiel on what to do in a crisis and come up with a family plan and just try to talk to them about fire safety as we are installing their new smoke alarm,” Pfoutz noted.

Pfoutz said the department currently has 24 smoke alarms to distribute, but can get more.

“We can provide as many as we need to in our district. The only thing we need are people and a screw driver to put them in,” she added.

“Anybody, who lives in our Goldbug community, can have one. It is possible we could go into some other areas to do it, but we are mainly focusing on our community first. If other fire departments are interested, I can give them the contact information.”

For more information about the program, contact the Goldbug Volunteer Fire Department at 515-0684, Pfoutz at 304-4095, or Safety Officer B.J. Searles at 765-3695.

Some restrictions do apply.

Pfoutz added that smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years, and that the batteries should be changed twice a year.

She said a good rule of thumb is to change the batteries when daylight savings time changes in the spring and fall.

“As long as they are in good working order, smoke alarms are good for 10 years as long as the batteries are replaced.

The big thing is actually getting people to replace the batteries and actually keeping track of it,” Pfoutz added.