The City of Spokane is partnering with the Red Cross and Gonzaga University to provide homes in the Logan neighborhood with working smoke detectors, free of charge.
Volunteers from the Red Cross, Fairchild Air Force Base and GU plan to canvass the neighborhood this Saturday, Oct. 11, to offer fire safety and preparedness information, in addition to giving residents the opportunity to schedule a time to have a smoke detector installed.
Several crews will be on hand to install a limited number of detectors Saturday, but the majority of installations will happen between Oct. 24-25. The canvassing is one of several events the city has planned for National Fire Prevention Week, which runs Oct. 5-11.
Fire Marshal Lisa Jones says that the plan is part of a larger effort by the city to educate residents about fire safety. While firefighters on emergency calls have been checking and replacing old smoke detectors for several years, Jones says that this is the first time the city has specifically focused on going out into the community.
"This is all under the community risk reduction umbrella," Jones says. "It's a national fire prevention effort, so many jurisdictions around the country are really trying to focus on community awareness and community risk reduction by actually getting out in the neighborhood and doing some prevention."
The density of low-income housing is part of the reason the Spokane Fire Department is focusing on the Logan neighborhood.
"Nationally, 99207 is listed as one of the top 10 highest fire risks in Eastern Washington, as far as zip codes go," Jones says.
While the SFD has an smoke detector installation phone line — 625-7049 — the department relies on donations in order to provide them for free. Jones says that SFD plans to hold similar campaigns in other high-risk neighborhoods throughout the city, as long as they keep getting donations.
"We'll be working throughout the city as we can get more smoke detectors and more people together to get those efforts going," she says.
