This past Friday, MCFRS responded to an apartment fire on Quince Orchard Boulevard in Gaithersburg. A women occupant of the apartment called 911 to report the fire after being awakened by a
working smoke alarm in the unit. The woman was treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital and her injuries were not serious.
A week before, a 71 year old male was tragically killed in a fire in his town house. The home did not have a working smoke alarm. While there were other factors associated with this fire – his electric and gas service had been shut off – the presence of
working smoke alarms provide early warning in the event of fire in the home and increase your chances of surviving a fire. Between 2003–06 more than 66 percent of home fire deaths occurred in homes without a working smoke alarm (
from NFPA).
Please check your smoke alarms to ensure you they are working. If you find yourself in need of a new smoke alarm, and are hard pressed to buy a new one, please know that MCFRS has a program to provide and install FREE
smoke alarms! Call 311 to learn more! We also provide a home fire safety evaluation that you can schedule by calling 311 as well.
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