For 40 years, Anne Lee has lived in her home in Parramore without a smoke detector, but that changed Thursday when Orlando firefighters showed up to install a free one with a 10-year battery.
“I am really grateful because I couldn't afford to buy one, so I'm glad they came by and put it in,” Lee said.
Lee is one of many in the Parramore community mourning Tuesday's loss of a friend and lifelong resident who died a few streets away in a house fire on South Parramore Avenue.
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“Oh, that hurt very much,” she said.
The cause of that fire is still under investigation, but firefighters said there were no working smoke detectors in the home.
With a wagon full of alarms Thursday morning, they went house to house, covering more than three blocks in one of the city's most economically challenged areas in hopes of preventing another tragedy.
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Resident Terri Scott tracked down the fire engine in her car to make sure she wouldn’t miss out.
She said Tuesday's tragedy deeply affected people who live in the area, stirring greater concern about the fragile state of older homes so prevalent in Parramore.
On @WFTV @ReginaHillFL lends support to residents who say Tuesday's house fire tragedy, where a man died in a home with no smoke alarm, has stirred greater concern about the fragile state of older homes/apartments so prevalent in Parramore #WFTV pic.twitter.com/hHGgxP1xxt
— Angela Jacobs WFTV (@AngelaJacobsTV) January 4, 2018
The National Fire Protection Association said working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying from a house fire in half.
“I appreciate it a great deal. They are needed and I just thank God for them doing it,” said Scott.
The free fire alarms were part of a federal outreach program funded by a grant.
On @WFTV Dozens of grateful residents in Parramore as @OrlandoFireDept delivered and installed free smoke detectors across more than 3 blocks #WFTV pic.twitter.com/apPYVPZuiB
— Angela Jacobs WFTV (@AngelaJacobsTV) January 4, 2018
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