“Operation Save A Life” Louisiana
Slidell, LA – March 15, 2011: Fire Chief Larry Hess and Chief of Fire Prevention Neil Ricca proudly join State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning, Jr. in presenting “OPERATION SAVE A LIFE”.
“In the U.S., roughly 80% of fire deaths result from fire in homes without working smoke alarms. In fact, half of home fire deaths occur in the 6% of homes without any smoke alarms. Survival in homes with working smoke alarms is increased by nearly 90%. In 2009, 98 people died in Louisiana as a result of fire, 91 of which had no operable smoke detectors. This is why the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office has proudly teamed up with ABC, Kidde and The Home Depot in a statewide fire safety public awareness and assistance campaign called Operation Save A Life”, stated State Fire Marshal, H. “Butch” Browning, Jr.
As part of this initiative a series of fire and carbon monoxide safety messages sponsored by Kidde and The Home Depot will air on ABC-affiliate WGNO ABC 26 TV designed to provide vital valuable information regarding home fire and smoke detectors throughout WGNO’s media market which spans across 14 southeast Louisiana parishes from Slidell to Morgan City.
“Operation Save A Life” Louisiana was created to combat the rise in fire related injury and deaths due to home fires in our great state.
The goal of this statewide initiative is to dramatically reduce fire related death across the State of Louisiana by installing smoke alarms to vulnerable citizens and at risk communities.
That’s why WGNO ABC 26 TV, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, Kidde, Home Depot and St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1 will be distributing smoke alarms at the local Home Depot stores on March 19th 2011. Smoke detectors will be available to those in need, with more than 100 local fire departments joining St. Tammany Fire Protection District No.1 to distribute the free smoke alarms as well as give smoke alarm installation and safety tips.
“Operation Save A Life” Louisiana is a public awareness campaign designed and developed to educate our citizens, their caregivers, family members and the general public to stop the alarming upward trend of fire-related deaths and injuries.
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A new Louisiana law passed by the Louisiana legislature in 2010, requires that upon the sale of
existing homes or the execution of a new lease for rental properties, every home must have some type of smoke detection. Burglar and fire alarm systems, hard wired detectors or a ten 10 year lithium battery smoke alarms are acceptable. This law was drafted to have a dramatic impact on the lack of smoke alarms in homes where our citizens continue to die as a result of fire.
As the world’s largest manufacturer of fire safety products, Kidde’s mission is to provide solutions that help keep people and property safe from the effects of fire and its related hazards. Kidde’s 10 year sealed smoke alarms have a 10 year life span and use batteries that do not need to be replaced annually or biannually.
The local Home Depot stores will team up with St. Tammany Fire Protection District No. 1 Fire Prevention Officers and State Fire Marshal Deputies to offer 10 year battery detectors, offer installation assistance and provide “Do it yourself” installation seminars on Saturday, March 19, 2011 from 10:00AM to 4:00PM.
For more information about St. Tammany Fire Protection District #1 visit us at www.SlidellFire.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Captain Van Joffrion
PIO / Fire Prevention Officer
[email protected]
Cell (985) 201-5566