Free Distribution

Of Extinguishers

Also Made Possible

With Federal Grant

By BILL JONES

Staff Writer

The Greeneville Fire Department announced on Friday that, thanks to funding from a federal grant, it plans to install, free of charge, 2,000 smoke alarms in the homes of Greeneville residents who need them.

The smoke alarms, which are powered by lithium-ion batteries with a 10-year life expectancy, will be installed by Greeneville firefighters in the homes of interested Greeneville residents whose homes either don't have smoke alarms or have an insufficient number of alarms, the chief said on Friday.

Fire Chief Mark Foulks also announced that his department had acquired 2,000 two-pound fire extinguishers for free distribution to Greeneville residents who complete future fire-extinguisher training sessions.

Individuals, church groups, clubs and other organizations are eligible for the free fire extinguisher training sessions, according to the chief.

He noted that the new fire extinguisher training sessions will be taught using a new computer-based simulator that was also acquired with the same federal Assistance to Firefighters grant.

Call GFD To Sign Up

Those interested in either having smoke alarms installed in their homes or receiving free fire-extinguisher training and a free fire extinguisher, should call the GFD's Central Fire Hall at 638-4243 to enroll.

"We will make an appointment to come install your smoke alarms or call you back to arrange a time," Chief Foulks said. "A fire truck will pull up at your house, firefighters will come in an install your alarms and leave."

Only residents of Greeneville are eligible for the free smoke alarms, the chief said.

He noted that one smoke alarm per bedroom, plus an additional alarm outside normal sleeping areas, would be installed in each home.

The chief said National Fire Protection Association guidelines recommend installing smoke alarms in each bedroom as well as one outside sleeping areas.

That way, he said, sleeping residents can more quickly be alerted if a fire breaks out in the room in which they are sleeping.

"If you have to wait for the smoke to get out into the hallway to trigger a smoke alarm, it may be too late to get out of the house," the chief said.

Foulks said the free smoke alarms are well suited for those who live in older homes. He noted that most newer homes were built to comply with modern building codes that require a certain number of smoke detectors.

First Installation

On Friday, GFD Firefighters Craig Bowlby and Jonathan Gray went to the Colonial Circle residence of Bobby George to install the first four smoke alarms funded by the new program.

The firefighters installed the new smoke alarms in each bedroom of the George residence and also replaced an existing smoke alarm in the hallway of the single-story residence.

"It's an excellent idea for people who are handicapped and elderly people as well as people with hearing impairments," George, who is disabled, said.

He said he learned about the new smoke alarm program from Debbie Smith, the Greeneville government's environmentalist.

"I think it's a great thing," George said.

Mayor Darrell Bryan, who accompanied the firefighters and Chief Foulks to the George residence, said smoke-alarm and fire- extinguisher programs are an important means of improving fire safety.

"I think what's best about the fire extinguishers and the smoke alarms is that they provide safety for our citizens," the mayor said. "I think this shows that our fire department is making a real effort to prevent fires and help people be safe. It's a real tribute to the fire department.

Chief Foulks said the GFD also plans to work with home-health organizations in an effort to learn the names and addresses of disabled or elderly residents who may not have smoke alarms.

In addition, he said, a database of residences in which new smoke alarms are installed will be maintained so that those detectors can be replaced before the alarms reach the end of their 10-year battery lives.

$112,000 Grant

Chief Foulks said the GFD last year won the $112,000 grant that is funding the two new programs from the Assistance to Firefighters grant program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

But between seeking competitive bids for the needed smoke alarms and fire extinguishers and planning how to implement the smoke alarm and fire extinguisher program, it took until Friday before the department was ready to announce its plans.

Foulks also said that plans are to amend the grant if additional residential smoke alarms are needed beyond the 2,000 the department has already purchased from Lowe's of Greeneville on a low-bid basis.

Fire Extinguisher Program

The fire-extinguisher simulator uses a laptop computer, a rear-screen projection system and simulated fire extinguishers powered by compressed air to give students the feel of extinguishing a real fire without subjecting students to any danger, Chief Foulks said.

He said the GFD plans to offer 20-to-30 minute fire extinguisher training class using the new, high-tech simulator.

The simulator uses a simulated fire extinguisher that weighs about the same as an actual fire extinguisher but is connected to computerized equipment by a fiber-optic cable and to a tank filled with compressed air.

Students then are shown video images of burning paint lockers, trees and other items on a large rear-projection screen.

If the student operates the simulated fire extinguisher properly using the PASS (for point, aim, squeeze and sweep) method, the on-screen fire goes out.

Chief Foulks said that firefighters teaching fire-extinguisher classes previously had to start a kerosene fire in a "pan" and then have students discharge real fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.

Unfortunately, Chief Foulks said, that meant someone had to pay to recharge the spent fire extinguishers and that students were exposed to some degree of danger.

With the new fire-extinguisher simulator no real fire extinguishers have to be discharged. That, he said, is safer, especially for demonstrations involving elderly citizens and children.

Firefighters will be able to package and transport the new simulator to venues such as churches, the Roby Fitzgerald Adult Center and the Greene County Health Department, which is making space available for fire extinguisher classes.