Fatal house fires are reportedly on the rise. Last year, the state Fire Marshal Tracked 93 fatalities from home fires compared to 72 in the previous year. Nationally, two-thirds of all fatal house fires occur in homes without working smoke alarms.
In order to address those startling statistics, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has launched the Get Alarmed program, with a goal to install 10,000 smoke alarms in homes in the next two years.
The program works with local fire departments and fire risk consultants like Firerite to properly install smoke alarms and educate residents about fire prevention and safety.
According to a press release about the program, Get Alarmed is funded via a federal Fire Prevention and Safety grant awarded to the Indiana Fire Marshal, who oversees the IDHS Division of Fire and Building Safety.
The $521,000 grant will provide 10,000 smoke alarms, each containing a 10-year lithium battery as well as 1,000 alarms for the deaf and hard of hearing. The funding will also help supply educational support for residents, fire departments and service providers.
“Get Alarmed” is managed by the Indiana Fire Marshal in partnership with the American Red Cross.
Officials say the partnership with the Red Cross will allow the Get Alarmed program to benefit from the network created by the organization through a history of fire prevention and education at the national level. Both entities will share fire data to help the program target areas with an increase in home fires to provide both smoke alarms and educational outreach.
