A Local Tragedy and the Importance
of Smoke Detectors
On May 31,
2002 about 6:30 pm Tampa Firefighters and Paramedics from
Stations 10 and 16 were first to arrive on the scene of a house
fire at 3003 N 43rd Street. Firefighters made entry
into the burning house and pulled out two badly injured victims,
a 63 year old woman and her 2 year old grandchild. Despite the
heroic efforts by rescuers and medical personnel at the
hospitals, both the grandmother and her granddaughter succumbed
to their injuries. Investigators did not find a smoke alarm in
the home.
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Captain George Lee and Firefighter Lenny Chavers
talk to an East Tampa resident about smoke alarms. |
Lenny Chavers checks a smoke alarm in an East Tampa
home. This smoke alarm needed a fresh battery. |
A few days
later about a twenty Tampa Firefighters accompanied by members
of the local Egypt Temple Shrine returned to the East Tampa
neighborhood. This time they went door to door asking residents
if they had a smoke alarm and if so was the alarm in working
order.
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Captain Lee, F/F Chavers and Shriner Richard
Johnson leave an East Tampa home after checking the smoke
alarm. |
Captain Lee
and Egypt Temple Shrine meber Richard Johnson are invited
into a home to check the smoke alarm. |
The
Shriners and Firefighters were invited into several homes. They
installed about 20 new smoke alarms. They checked and replaced
batteries in another seven smoke alarms. The smoke alarms,
batteries and tools used to install them were donated by the
local Home Depot.
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Tampa Driver Engineer Tom
Clark and Shriner Tom Edwards leave a home after
installing another smoke alarm. |
In
addition to putting up smoke alarms the Shriners also
supplied burn prevention information. Two neighborhood
kids look at the information. The Egypt Temple Shrine is
famous for providing medical care to children; they are
also involved with injury prevention programs. |
Thanks to
this effort, which was coordinated by the Tampa Fire Rescue
Public Education Office, tonight there are 27 more homes in East
Tampa with properly working smoke alarms.
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A good team for injury prevention, Tampa
Firefighters and Paramedics and the Egypt Temple Shrine. |
Is the
smoke alarm at your home in working order? If you have any
doubt please call your local Fire Department’s business lines.
In Tampa call 813-242-5494, in Hillsborough County call
744-5541.
