Athens’ Lowe’s Home Improvement is donating 150 smoke detectors to the Athens Fire Department for distribution at the grand opening of the new Athens Fire Station Headquarters.
Following a year of construction, the newly built Athens Fire Station Headquarters at 120 E. Stimson Ave will open its doors to the community on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will start at noon, followed by speeches from Mayor Steve Patterson, Senator Brian Chavez, Representative Don Jones and others. Visitors will also have the opportunity to tour the new station.
“We’ll have a table down there,” Fire Chief Robert Rymer said. “It says they need a free smoke detector. Sign this waiver here, and if you need help installing it, let us know, and we’ll come put it in for you or find a department that can.”
Swank suggested the idea to Rymer for Fire Prevention Week, the first week of October, after reminiscing about his childhood memories with fire stations.
“Back when I was a kid, fire prevention week, elementary kids walked to the fire department,” Swank said. “We got this little plastic badge, and it was really a big deal.”
Dakota Hughes, general manager of the Athens Lowe’s, said the First Alert 10-year battery smoke detectors are sold in the store for around $29 each, but they will be free to those at the grand opening.
“They came to us a couple of weeks ago asking us to help with the grand opening,” Hughes said. “We had a fire safety event in October, so we had some extra smoke alarms. We try to donate to the community quite a bit.”
The smoke detectors will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, targeting households without smoke detectors.
Rymer said the station's goal is to donate smoke detectors to people who don’t have them installed in their homes or apartments, not for landlords to use in rental units. The station’s focus of distribution is small, older homes.
“There’s a lot of people out there who don’t have smoke detectors, but we’re working on it,” Rymer said.
However, Rymer is not concerned about the number of Athens residents without working smoke detectors.
“One thing we’re fortunate with here in the city of Athens is there are about 8000 living units within the city, and about 5500 of those are rental units, and by code, they have to have a minimum of a 10-year living battery smoke detector or hard wire,” Rymer said. “That takes care of over two-thirds of our residents within the city.”
Rymer also mentioned the resource the Red Cross provides for installations, which is a free service. By contacting your fire department or the Red Cross, they’ll task the local fire department to hold an inspection and installation for the detector.
“We just want to thank the community and for the support of the fire station, and if they are unable to stop by and get one of these smoke detectors, if you just reach out to your local fire department or the Red Cross and let them know, then we will find a way to try and get you one for your home,” Rymer said.
