Fire departments across North Carolina participated in the 2^nd annual “Smoke Alarm Saturday” campaign on June 1, 2019.

“Smoke Alarm Saturday” is North Carolina’s one-day, statewide, smoke alarm canvassing event aimed at highlighting the importance of functional smoke alarms and fire safety.

The event, held on behalf of Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey and the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), was created in response to a recent increase in fire deaths in the state. According to a press release issued by Causey’s office, 134 North Carolinians lost their lives in fire-related incidents in 2018, making it one of the deadliest years on record.

Members of the Henderson Fire Department assist with the 2019 “Smoke Alarm Saturday” event. (Photo courtesy Capt. Lee Edmonds)

According to Captain Lee Edmonds with the Henderson Fire Department, approximately 75 counties – including Vance – participated in Saturday’s event. Last year, 60 counties assisted with the installation of over 4,000 alarms in homes across the state.

The one-day canvassing event brought national media attention to NC, emphasizing the awareness that working smoke alarms do save lives, according to the OSFM.

While Edmonds said his group was glad to assist with this year’s event, door-to-door canvassing has been performed by the Henderson Fire Department for the past 10 years. In 2009, after a Vance County family tragically lost several of their children in a house fire, former fire chief Danny Wilkerson began an annual smoke detector inspection for City of Henderson residents.

The inspection, which begins anew each November following Fire Prevention Month in October, is free of charge to City residents. “We put new batteries in smoke detectors, replace old smoke detectors and install smoke detectors in places that did not previously have them during these campaigns,” said Edmonds.

To assist with this year’s smoke detector campaign, the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Vance Class of 2019 will hold a battery drive through Friday, June 28, 2019. Donations of new 9 volt batteries are needed.

To donate batteries, look for the red box marked “Battery Drop Spot” at the following locations: City Hall (Henderson), Vance County Tax Office, Maria Parham Health (front desk of the main lobby), L.B. Yancey Elementary School, Vance-Granville Community College (Building 1, front lobby), Charles Boyd Chevrolet of Henderson, Vance County Department of Social Services and the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce.

With questions on battery donations, please contact McKinley Perkinson at (252) 436-1402 or Evelyn Harris at (252) 738-3254.