Lancaster County resident credits local fire-department program for free smoke and CO alarm installations

A Lancaster County resident said a fire-department program that supplies and installs free smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) monitors has given her and other households a greater sense of safety.

The resident told the meeting she first learned about the program from a volunteer named Tiffany and signed up on a signup sheet. "We installed 265 smoke alarms along with 25 CO alarms," she said, adding that the program completed "72 home visits within the last year of 2025." The resident said the alarms are supplied by the state and the Red Cross.

The resident described the sign-up process: interested households call the program office to request alarms and are placed on a list; installers call to arrange a time. Installations generally include one alarm in each bedroom and one in adjacent hallways so a house is "fully covered," the resident said.

She also described a supply limitation: after signing up she was told the program had run out of CO monitors but could provide smoke alarms. The resident urged the program to secure steady partners or donations so installations can continue year-round rather than pausing when supplies run short. She named national retailers as examples partners the program has approached.

The resident framed the program as especially valuable for low-income and older households. "This has given me a level of security and comfort for the safety of my home," she said, adding that buying the same system privately would have cost "way into the hundreds of dollars," which she could not afford.

The resident closed by encouraging other residents to enroll, saying there is a signup process and that the program will contact people on its list to schedule an installation.

The remarks were submitted as a public comment describing personal experience with the alarm-installation program; no formal motion, vote, or agency statement was recorded during this segment.