WICHITA, Kan. — Firefighters teamed up with Domino’s to promote fire prevention and raise awareness about the importance of smoke detectors Wednesday.
KSN reported that the event was part of the National Fire Protection Association’s partnership with the restaurant. Firefighters tagged along with delivery drivers for two hours. They checked the smoke detectors at homes where the pizza was delivered. Their mission was simple: if the batteries work, the pizza is free. If not, firefighters replaced the batteries or installed a new alarm.
Capt. Stu Bevis said last year five people died in fires in Wichita. In four of those deaths, the homes did not have working smoke detectors.
“Very sad when we have a [fatal] fire we go though and we find out we didn’t have any working smoke alarms,” Capt. Bevis said. “Something as simple as a $10 smoke alarm may have given them the minutes they need to get out.”
Fire prevention awareness week continues through Saturday with open houses at Wichita fire stations. This is the eighth year in a row that NFPA and Domino’s have teamed up to deliver fire safety messages and pizza during fire prevention week across the U.S.