Springfield Township

Fire Department

Smoke Detector Initiative

 -General program description: Our safety program, entitled Springfield Township Fire Department Smoke Detector Initiative stemmed from an informal survey at the elementary level of Springfield Local Schools last October, during fire prevention month, in conjunction with the national Change Your Clock Change Your Battery program. The informal study showed Springfield Township has a large percentage of homes without a working smoke detector. This was a larger percentage than the national average. Just one working smoke detector can save lives by alerting the occupants (adults, children and pets) of a fire burning or smoke in the house, however, more than one smoke detector is recommended. Our goal is to poll every home within the political boundaries of Springfield Township (approximately 6,000 homes) and educate the residents the safety importance of smoke detectors. Educating residents and the public will primarily be through our local newspapers, local cable TV access, department website, and informational pamphlets. The number of lives we can potentially save by placing immeasurable. We are asking local clubs and organizations to partner with us by providing the necessary volunteers to poll the residents, to deliver smoke detectors, and provide the fire department with the information collected. All necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of the volunteers, as well as provide a feeling of security to the residents of the township. Club and organization volunteers will be trained and will provide the initiative coordinator with names, addresses and phone numbers of their volunteers. The fire and police departments will have this information accessible in case a call is received questioning the validity of the volunteer. Club and Organization information will be made available to the public to further provide a feeling of security. This information will be advertised through a variety of media. All volunteers will be advised that under no circumstance should they enter a home or solicit monetary donations, and the public will be made aware of this as well. A date will be established each year to enroll your club or organization as a community service volunteer, after this date no organizations will be added, but those enrolled may be deleted. The list of organizations enrolled will be posted publicly.