Operation 6abc: Save-A-Life helps get thousands of smoke detectors into the community
First responders from Tullytown to Chester lined up outside of the Philadelphia Fire Academy Tuesday morning.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Thousands of neighbors in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware will get new smoke detectors in the coming weeks, thanks to Operation 6abc: Save a Life.
First responders from Tullytown to Chester lined up outside of the Philadelphia Fire Academy Tuesday morning to pick up their allotment of smoke and CO detectors, which will be redistributed to the community.
"It's a team effort and it works quickly," said 6abc President and General Manager Bernie Prazenica. "The smoke detectors get here and they get out and they get into people's homes."
6abc teamed up with the Philadelphia Fire Department, Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association, Home Depot, and Kidde - one of America's largest manufacturers of smoke alarms - for the campaign which will help get more than 7,000 smoke and CO detectors into homes.
"This is our community. We live here, we work here, we raise our families here. These people are our customers," said Paul Muller, the president of the Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association.
"They don't have the equipment they need to escape a fire quickly such as a working smoke alarm. Families should never have to choose between putting food on the table and a working smoke alarm," said Mara Zingshein, a fire safety educator at Kidde.
Just last week, one person was killed and another injured in a fire in Narberth, Montgomery County.
In Philadelphia so far in 2023, 13 people have died in fires and more than 500 people have been displaced.
"Fires are burning hotter and faster than ever before," said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel.
The goal of this event is to make sure our entire community can better protect themselves and their families.
"Just this morning our firefighters rescued and our medics treated a resident in a house fire. The best thing you can do is have a smoke alarm on every level of your home," said Thiel.
If you don't have a working smoke alarm and you live in Philadelphia, it's easy to get one. Call 311 and the fire department will come to install it for you.
