An ounce of prevention
Published 10:12 pm Saturday, October 18, 2008
MONROE — Cliff Cundy is a busy man, but he got just a little extra peace of mind Saturday after firefighters installed a smoke alarm in his mobile home.
Throughout the day, fire departments across Snohomish County were installing smoke alarms free of charge in mobile parks and other neighborhoods.
“I’m only here to sleep, of course I want to be safe,” said Cundy, 47, who works two jobs.
Cundy said he wasn’t even aware his home near the Monroe Motel in the 20300 block of Old Owen Road didn’t have a smoke alarm. “It’s one of the things I’ve been taking for granted until recently.”
The event was organized to prevent tragedies like the Sept. 30 fire that killed four people in Snohomish. Two women and two children died of smoke inhalation after the mobile home where they lived caught on fire.
Fire officials say the home didn’t have a working smoke alarm. The fire was most likely an accident, which may have been caused by a makeshift heater, Snohomish Police Chief John Turner said.
“Those of us in the fire service were all touched by this tragedy and we wanted to do something to prevent this from happening again,” Snohomish County Fire District 1 Deputy Chief Steve Sherman said.
The Snohomish County Fire Prevention Association organized the event Saturday to raise awareness about fire safety and help people make their homes safer.
The state Department of Health donated 1,100 smoke alarms, so each participating fire department had plenty of devices to give away.
The Monroe Fire Department had about 110 devices to spare, department spokeswoman Richelle Risdon said.
“It’s really unfortunate that such a tragedy happened, but it’s also an opportunity for us to educate the public,” Risdon said.
It’s important to let people know they need to have a smoke detector on each level of their home and in all sleeping areas, she said.
“People don’t realize that when a fire breaks out, it’s often the smoke that’s dangerous,” Risdon said.
Firefighters started in the mobile home park near the Monroe Motel and went on to knock on people’s doors in two other neighborhoods in downtown Monroe.
Seven households in the mobile home park took advantage of the opportunity. Firefighters left notes on the doors of people who weren’t home, Risdon said.
SusanJean and Owen Woolsey said they didn’t even realize their home didn’t have a smoke alarm.
“We are usually very careful, but we will still feel safer with it,” said SusanJean Woolsey, 53.
While a smoke detector may be a big help, it’s still up to people to make their homes safe, she said.
“You take everything for granted and just don’t think anything will happen to you.”
Smoke alarms are the most cost-effective fire prevention method that greatly increases your chances of survival in case of fire, Sherman said.
“We’ve seen them save lives,” he said.
Countywide, there are roughly 18,000 mobile or manufactured homes, mostly in unincorporated areas, county property records show. Like the 40-year-old mobile home where the Snohomish family died, nearly one in five in the county was built before 1976, when government standards went into place to improve fire safety.
About a dozen fire departments will continue installing smoke alarms over the next few weeks to make sure that every household that needs the device will get one.
Firefighters will also talk to people about how they can make their homes safer.
Risdon said people should feel free to call their local fire department and ask for a smoke alarm. “We want to prevent tragedies,” she said.
Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
