24 years of Operation 6abc Save a Life

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It appears people are getting the message about the importance of smoke detectors.

There was a 63 percent decrease in the number of fire deaths in Philadelphia last year.

Home Depot employees worked quickly Thursday morning to pass out an estimated 10,000 Kidde smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; all of the detectors come with a ten year sealed in battery.

More than 100 fire companies from the tristate area came to collect the devices this morning at the Philadelphia Fire Academy.

This is the 24th year of Operation 6abc Save a Life.

6abc is proud to team up with local firefighters who will hand the life saving devices to their communities.

"To donate over 200,000 smoke detectors over that time for people to try and save lives, we're delighted to keep doing it year after year with our partners and it's such a great event," 6abc President and General Manager Bernie Prazenica said.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer knows that programs like Operation 6abc Save a Life work.

"We've already proven that if you have a working smoke alarm, that you have the early warning and you can get out. This last year we documented at least two saves where we know that we put a smoke alarm in and about two to three months later, they had a fire, and they got out safely," Sawyer said.

Wilmington's fire chief says his department also depends on this program.

"The departments in our financial budgets can't afford to buy smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors all the time, so when we receive these detectors, we already have a list that we've been establishing and we're able to get those people from our fire prevention unit out into those homes and start to install detectors immediately. So it's an immense help," Chief Anthony Goode said.

Home Depot's involvement extends past today; they offer programs to teach people about fire safety.

"We have Save a Life clinics in our stores. We're really excited as associates. We get everybody involved. We welcome families to come into our stores, and we teach them the importance of having smoke detectors and carbon monoxide protection within every home,"

Since 1992, with the help of local fire companies, 6abc has distributed nearly one million smoke alarms to our neighbors throughout the Delaware Valley.

More Information: Operation 6abc Save a Life