This weekend, on Saturday, July 21, 2010 dozens of DC firefighters will canvass the Deanwood neighborhood in an effort to ‘Install, Inspect and Protect” as part of District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service (DC F&EMS) Smoke Alarm Verification and Utilization (SAVU) Program.

So far in 2010 there have been three (3) persons killed in two separate home fires, compared to fifteen (15) total fire deaths on this date last year. Several days ago on Saturday, July 10 units from the DC F&EMS responded to a house fire at 1612 w Street, SE. Firefighters rescued an 85 year-old female and a 51 year old female from the 2nd floor. Tragically, both succumbed to their injuries and died, most likely from smoke inhalation. The home had one smoke alarm on the first floor, but it was inoperable. The cause of the fire appears accidental and electrical in nature.

The first fire fatality of the year occurred on February 17, 2010, in the 5200 block of East Capital Street, SE, an 88 year old male resident was unable to get out of his home when a fire started in his bedroom. The fire was caused by improperly discarded smoking materials and resulted in a family being displaced and significant damage to the home. On June 18, 2010 DC firefighters re-visited the neighborhood in the vicinity of the East Capital Street fatal fire. Dozens of firefighters checked about 200 homes and installed and/or replaced 114 smoke alarms.

Nineteen (19) fire fatalities occurred in 2009 in the District of Columbia, including a New Year’s Day fire that claimed six (6) Brookland, NE family members. The 2009 statistic is a number almost tripled when compared to the seven (7) residential fire fatalities for the same period the year before in 2008.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Fire Chief Dennis Rubin have recently announced the receipt of a federal grant which provided a major ‘boost’ to the neighborhood door-to-door initiative that allows firefighters to check and install smoke alarms. SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES! The DC F&EMS SAVU initiative was established in July 2007 following the death of a 5 year old Deanwood, NE resident. Since that time DC Firefighters have installed thousands of smoke alarms in homes all across the District of Columbia. Mayor Fenty noted that the City has provided $31,000 in local funds to $125,000 worth of federal funding for a grant that will support the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Service (DC F&EMS) Smoke Alarm Verification and Utilization (SAVU) Program. Nearly 6,000 smoke alarms have been purchased with the funds.