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By DAN TELVOCK
Are your smoke detectors working?
It is a question to which Spotsylvania County fire
Local fire fighters may be able to help a few thousand people power them up thanks to several donations.
Spotsylvania County Deputy Fire Chief Nick Caputo said the biggest donation was more than 2,000 batteries from the Duracell Global Business Unit of Procter and Gamble.
The Partlow Ruritan Club donated $550 to Spotsylvania Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management to purchase 110 smoke detectors.
Home Depot, on Plank Road, added $100 to the pot to purchase 24 more smoke detectors.
Caputo said firefighters have been visiting homes to check smoke detectors and found some that needed new batteries. He said there were homes that had non-working ones or not enough to provide full protection. The department has made it a goal to ensure every home has working smoke detectors on each floor.
"We are not there yet," he said. "Smoke detectors are proven to save lives. If we can cut down on fires in homes then that cuts down on the fires we have to send people to and that helps the firefighters out, too."
Caputo said he also hopes the program leads to additional donations from the community to continue the program.
Spotsylvania residents who want their local firefighters to check their home for smoke detector safety can call the office at 540/507-7903 to make an appointment. The service is free until supplies last.
Any person or business interested in donating to the program can call 540/507-7900.
Dan Telvock: 540/374-5438
Email: dtelvock@freelancestar.com
