Augusta Fire Department to blitz neighborhood with smoke detectors

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Fire Department is planning to blitz a neighborhood with free smoke detectors Saturday.

The targeted initiative aims to ensure that every home in the Crawford Avenue neighborhood is equipped with working smoke alarms.

The neighborhood has experienced a higher concentration of fires in recent months, prompting the Augusta Fire Department to take a proactive approach.

Partnering with the esteemed Red Cross, the Augusta Fire Department will be joined by volunteers to distribute the smoke detectors.

Additionally, the Bethel AME Church has offered the use of the area next to their church as a meeting and staging area for the event, with volunteers from the congregation also expected to participate.

The blitz will begin at 9 a.m., with the goal of completing all door-to-door visits and smoke alarm checks by lunchtime.

“The Augusta Fire Department believes that smoke alarms are a crucial lifeline, proven to save lives by providing early detection and prompt evacuation in the event of a fire,” said Fire Chief Antonio Burden.

The department encourages all residents of the neighborhood to welcome those visiting the homes. Participating households will have the opportunity to receive valuable information on fire safety and prevention measures.

According to 2022 data from the National Fire Protection Association, 75 percent of all fire deaths in the country happen in homes

Augusta ranks ninth out of 150 cities with the highest home fire risk. The Augusta Fire Department created a new Public Education Specialist position to decrease the number of house fires in the area.

“I hear fire trucks a lot,” said Sonya Clemons, administrative assistant at Bethel AME Church. “As a matter of fact, on my way in this morning, a fire truck passed by me in this area.”

It’s not uncommon to see fire trucks on Crawford Avenue.

“It’s a very big concern, these houses, you can almost stretch your arms out and touch the house,” said Linda Walker, who lives on Crawford Avenue.

The houses are so close you can feel the flames from one house to the next.

“When we say heat radiated, it was just horrible,” said Walker. “It’s so easy to happen around here, as you see across the street.”

Walker is referring to a house that caught fire across the street from her house.

“One house caught fire and they couldn’t save the house either, so both houses went up one time,” said Walker.

Now all that’s left in that area is empty land.

“It raises a real concern and makes me want to just help out more,” said Clemons.

A street many call home is now considered a high concentration for fires.

“Our main goal is to save lives,” said Lt. Robert McQuinn, Public Education Specialist for the Augusta Fire Department. “Our next goal is to preserve property. We want to go through that neighborhood and make sure that other homes in that area have working smoke alarms to prevent future loss.”

It’s an effort to bring a community together.

“We’re just not here as a building,” said Clemons. “All of us are in this community together. It’s just not us, them, or they, it’s all of us together.”

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