The Surprise Fire Department is teaming up with the Arizona Burn Foundation and the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to provide free smoke alarm systems for residents who are deaf.
Because traditional smoke detectors couldn’t wake her up, a deaf Surprise resident died in her bedroom from a house fire early last year.
Arizona Burn Foundation CEO Rex Albright said the community pulled together in the following months to prevent a repeat.
“They were considering getting a smoke alarm system that allowed for peace of mind for their mother, actually, and they just found it too expensive to do because they are quite pricey,” Albright said. “And so the Arizona Burn Foundation, we decided to make it our mission to work with the Arizona Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission to install as many deaf and hard of hearing alarms as possible based on financing.”
The alarms they offer instead feature strobe lights and a bed-shaking mechanism. Albright said it’s important to reframe how we think about being prepared for an emergency.
“You know, you go into their house, their TVs are up very loudly, or they're asking you to repeat things,” Albright said. “It's a hard conversation to have sometimes, especially with pride, but you might want to ask them the question: 'Are you feeling that you could be able to hear a smoke alarm? Are you feeling comfortable when you're sleeping in this environment? Are you feeling comfortable when you're sleeping in this environment, to be able to get out in case of an accident?'”
For many homeowners, he said, the special systems are too expensive.
“We've been able to install 327 of these systems, and we have 37 more applications that we're working on right now,” Albright said. “And of course, we have the 25 in Surprise which makes us ... gonna get closer to 400 installed by the end of April at this rate.”
Right now, Surprise residents can book an online appointment for April.
Albright said the systems only take about 15 minutes to install, and they’re on the hunt for more volunteers to train as the program continues to expand.
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