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WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — In an effort to make homes safer in Mingo County, the Williamson Fire Department has partnered with the American Red Cross for the “Sound the Alarm” campaign.

According to the Red Cross, seven people every day die in home fires. Most die in homes that lack working smoke alarms.

Fire departments across the United States, including Williamson, are canvassing at-risk neighborhoods, installing free smoke alarms, replacing batteries in existing alarms and providing fire prevention and safety education.

“We look at how big the house is per square footage, how many bedrooms and how many kids or how many elderly people live there,” said Williamson Fire Chief Joey Carey. “Mostly just how many bedrooms you have. We can install up to three [smoke alarms].”

The smoke detectors the department is installing will last almost a decade.

“The detectors we’re installing are 10-year detectors,” added Carey. “They have a lithium battery in them that doesn’t need replaced for 10 years.”

Carey says the department is hoping to help prevent fires and educate the community. 

“We hardly ever go on a fire and hear a smoke detector going off. So either one, the battery is dead or they just don’t have any,” said Carey.

“We found out that a lot of homes still don’t even have one smoke detector. So, that’s why I feel like it’s really important that people take advantage of what we’ve got. I mean, these detectors are $15 a piece and we’re offering them free and we’re installing them.”

For more information, or to ask the fire department to install a free smoke detector, contact the Williamson Fire Department at 304-235-5273.