Ypsilanti Township Fire Department offers free smoke detectors to economically disadvantaged residents
A makeshift memorial was set up outside a home on Rambling Road where a woman was killed in a fire in December.
Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com
An 18-year-old woman was killed in a blaze at a home on Rambling Road in Ypsilanti Township on Dec. 13. Almost a year earlier, a 45-year-old woman died during a house fire on Dorset Avenue in the township.
In both cases, fire officials say, the homes didn’t have working smoke detectors installed. Ypsilanti Township Fire Chief Eric Copeland says he believes that factor could have meant the difference between life and death.
Because some residents can’t afford smoke detectors and some landlords aren't complying with maintenance codes requiring them to be installed, Copeland said the Ypsilanti Township Fire Department will install systems for free for economically disadvantaged residents who need them.
The township has seen four fire fatalities over the last year, and Copeland said it's of particular concern during winter months because people use alternative heating sources to warm their homes.
In the Dorset and Rambling Road fires, both homes were without utilities and the use of alternative heating methods — such as propane tanks — could have contributed to the fire spreading quicker, Copeland said.
Copeland said those types of situations are become increasingly common in Ypsilanti Township, despite ordinances prohibiting people from occupying homes without utilities.
Investigators determined there wasn't a battery in the smoke detector in a fire this month that killed an 87-year-old woman on Stony Creek Road, Copeland said. The township is also using longer life lithium batteries that can last five to 10 years.
Copeland said he's eager to install working smoke detectors if a resident is in a situation where he or she can’t afford one.
“We will install them for free just so we don’t have any fatalities,” Copeland said. “My aim, especially when the temperature drops below zero, is to avoid a repeat of the conditions from the fire two months ago. If you’re in this kind of predicament, call the township fire department, call the Red Cross, and we’ll try and get you some kind of assistance.”
Copeland said his department has asked DTE to provide a list of homes that have had utilities shut off so fire officials can contact residents and check for working smoke detectors. He said DTE officials are still considering whether they will provide the information.
Copeland said it would help in his efforts to possibly save a few lives.
“More times than not, if homes have a working fire detector, people have that advance notice and they can get out,” he said. "If there is some doubt, I'd rather people called me up and ask for the smoke detectors as opposed to them sitting on our shelf in the office."
Anyone needing a smoke detector can call the Ypsilanti Township Fire Department at 734-544-4225.
Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
michaywe
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 5:37 p.m.
DTE share their 'disconnected' addresses with the Fire Dept. SHOULD BE MANDATORY! I wouldn't be surprised if the Fire Dept. gets some push back here. Tenants, and maybe owner occupants, must have utilities to 'legally' occupy a dwelling. Disclosing their hardship could potentially save their lives while possibly creating a 'condemnation' issue. Hope common sense prevails!!!!
mb20fan
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 4:28 p.m.
This sounds great free smoke alarms.I`v went there a few times and they never have any.Or the guy I talked to can`t find them or does not know where they keep them.
Silly Sally
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 2:21 p.m.
"...can't afford smoke detectors and some landlords aren't complying with maintenance codes requiring them to be installed," Right? Bloody Well WRONG! Who cannot afford a $1 battery, yet can afford to live in a single family home? I know landlords who discover that after a tenant moves out, all of the smoke detectors are either unplugged or the batteries are removed. What is happening is some do not value their lives more than other $1 expenditures. Gum? Ciggies? Beer? This is a lifestyle decision, not economics. If we require landlords to hardwire all detectors, that cost is passed onto tenants, most paying a higher cost to cover the foolish. With respect to the older couple where the wife died and the husband was injured, I wonder if they could hear the alarm? They would have needed a much different type of detector that has a strobe light or a relay that can power an external low-pitched buzzer that those with diminished hearing (most elderly)can hear.
thedime
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 12:16 p.m.
Fatty J I have been on the scene of the last two fires where individuals have died. It is gut wrenching for me to think how the local Fire Departments have to continue working through the trauma of knowing there is a casualty inside. Not everyone involved is poor. You should be ashamed of yourself for making such a denegrating comment. The couple on Stoney Creek were in their 80's and had lived in their home for over 50 years. Some of us are lucky enough to have newer homes where the smoke alarms are hard-wired to the electrical system. Others, meanwhile, don't have that luxury and can not afford to purchase new batteries every 6 months as recommended. Shame on you.
FattyJ
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 12:57 a.m.
"ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED" . I almost fell out of my chair laughing. Call them poor. If you make a new term in order to sympathize with people who do not earn money, then there is less incentive to make a decent living. It makes poorness sound like a medical condition. People will say, I'm not poor, I'm economically disadvantaged and this means I get a check from the government on the first of each month.
Chase Ingersoll
Thu, Feb 17, 2011 : 11:08 p.m.
Tom: Kudos to Township Fire Chief Copeland for inexpensively reducing the risk to life and property. I've posted comments on just about every Ann Arbor.com report concerning fires.....most of the time they get deleted. The 10 year smoke alarm battery for $5.00 can be found here: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/ULTRA-smoke-alarm-battery-U9VL-X/dp/B00004W3ZE" rel='nofollow'>http://www.amazon.com/ULTRA-smoke-alarm-battery-U9VL-X/dp/B00004W3ZE</a>