Lynn FD to hold fire safety meeting for landlords

LYNN – Firefighters have installed 300 smoke detectors in local homes as part of a year-long safety campaign that includes educating landlords next Monday on how to protect their property and tenants from fire.Fire Lt. Edward Whittier will discuss the citywide detector distribution effort and fire safety tips for rental property from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development community room, 10 Church St.?Everybody needs updated smoke alarms in their home. A lot of people aren?t aware detectors have a specific lifespan – they are only as good as you maintain them. They save lives,” said North Shore Rental Property Association founder and president Stacey Devendorf.Devendorf said some landlords have expressed reluctance about attending the meeting out of concern that firefighters installing detectors in their buildings are also intent on finding code violations in rental buildings.?That is not the case – they are trying to help people,” she said.The association is sponsoring the informational discussion and Fire Chief James McDonald said it is “absolutely” important for local landlords to be informed about fire safety requirements.McDonald said smoke detector installation requirements vary depending on the number and type of apartments in buildings. Firefighters have entered apartments where no detectors are installed or working. The fire safety improvement campaign is aimed, he said, at providing residents with detectors powered by batteries with a 10-year-long operating life permanently installed in the detector.Local and state fire officials in September announced a fire safety education campaign featuring billboards and a smoke detector installation initiative aimed at installing 5,000 detectors locally over the next year.McDonald said firefighters installed 300 detectors in local homes by early October and said next Monday?s meeting with landlords should boost building owner interest in the installation program.?The more we can get the word out, the better,” he said.Smoke detectors double someone?s chances of escaping safely from a fire, McDonald said. In September he said one in 10 Lynn homes ranging from single-family homes to apartment buildings do not have working detectors.Two-thirds of the 3,000 Americans killed in fires annually died in homes without smoke detectors or ones that didn?t work, according to the National Fire Prevention Association.The fire safety campaign also includes television and radio information announcements in several languages and online information.McDonald said the campaign also stresses the need for families to discuss “exit plans” ensuring everyone in a house knows how to evacuate if a fire breaks out. The campaign will also focus on cooking safety, smoking and electrical hazards, and fire threats posed by heating systems, dryers and candles.Fire officials also plan to work with individuals who make frequent trips to local homes, including home health aides, visiting nurses and clergy, to pinpoint residences where smoke detectors should be installed.