| Below is a press release on the State Fire Marshal's Office "100 for 100" Smoke Alarm Challenge. A big thank you to the fire departments who participated and made this a huge success! If your department would like to participate in next month's challenge, please contact Alex Daugherty at 615-253-1820 or Alex.Daugherty@tn.gov.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015
CONTACT: Kevin Walters
OFFICE: (615) 253-8941
Over 1,100 Smoke Alarms Installed During Inaugural “100 For 100” Challenge
Details on November “100 For 100” Event Being Finalized
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) proudly announces that the 10 Tennessee fire departments chosen for the inaugural “100 For 100” smoke-alarm installation challenge on Oct. 10., 2015 exceeded the event’s goals and set the stage for other “100 For 100” events before year’s end.
Created to commemorate the SFMO’s 100th anniversary, the “100 For 100” challenge is a fun way for fire departments to push their limits and interact with their communities while raising awareness about fire prevention. The SFMO chose 10 departments who believed they could install at least 100 alarms in one day’s time – that’s 1,000 total newly installed smoke alarms. Instead of being content to meet those goals, however, the fire departments and their teams went the extra mile and installed 1,116 smoke alarms during the event.
“I congratulate all our fire prevention partners for demonstrating during the ‘100 For 100’ event their commitment to helping make Tennessee a safer place,” said State Fire Marshal and Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “Their participation was vital to this event’s success, and I thank them for their time and efforts.”
Results of the inaugural “100 For 100” event are as follows:
Paris Fire Department (FD): 141 alarms
Madison County FD: 123 alarms
Manchester FD: 119 alarms
Mt. Pleasant FD: 109 alarms
South Greene FD: 108 alarms
Cookeville FD: 107 alarms
Ripley FD: 105 alarms
Cocke County FD: 102 alarms
Pigeon Forge FD: 102 alarms
Memphis FD: 100 alarms
Total: 1,116 alarms installed
Education, partnerships and smoke alarm installations have helped dramatically reduce Tennessee’s fire mortality rate in recent years. According to National Fire ProtectionAssociation research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, three out of five fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
The SFMO created the “Get Alarmed, Tennessee!” smoke alarm program in 2012 to install free smoke alarms in high-risk areas across Tennessee to help reduce the state’s fire mortality rate. More than 89,000 alarms have been distributed thus far and 106 lives have been saved in homes where fires later occurred and “Get Alarmed” smoke alarms were installed.
Here’s what our participating fire prevention partners had to say:
Paris Fire Department Fire Marshal Greg Andrews: “The Paris Fire Department takes great pride in our commitment to fire safety throughout our community. We certainly appreciate the opportunity to participate in the State Fire Marshal’s ‘100 For 100’ effort, in which we were able to install a total of 141 smoke detectors on Oct. 10, making our drive to install 100 smoke detectors a success!”
Cookeville Fire Department Lieutenant Bruce Womack: “If all of the participating fire departments were each able to install 100 new smoke alarms, then that’s 1,000 new smoke alarms across the state. I’d say that makes for a pretty good Saturday.”
South Greene Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief David Weems: "The response to our "100 for 100" campaign was overwhelming. We appreciate the opportunity to be able to provide such a valuable service to our community."
The “100 For 100” event created interest among other Tennessee fire departments who have contacted the SFMO about participating in future “100 For 100” challenges through the remainder of 2015. The SFMO is currently finalizing plans for another “100 For 100” event in November.
Participating “100 For 100” fire departments will receive a special recognition from the SFMO for their work.
About the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance: TDCI is charged with protecting the interests of consumers while providing fair, efficient oversight and a level field of competition for a broad array of industries and professionals doing business in Tennessee. Our divisions include the Athletic Commission, Consumer Affairs, Tennessee Corrections Institute, Emergency Communications Board, Fire Prevention, Insurance, Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, Peace Officers Standards and Training, Regulatory Boards, Securities, and TennCare Oversight.
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