DCA DISTRIBUTES OPERATION SAVE A LIFE SMOKE DETECTORS TO ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS

10,000 Free Smoke Detectors to be Issued through Partnership with WABC-TV, CHANNEL 7


TRENTON, NJ – The Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Division of Fire Safety launched the distribution of free smoke detectors to local Hudson County residents today at the North Hudson Regional Fire Rescue Headquarters (NHRFR) in North Bergen. The program is part of WABC-TV’s, 14th Annual Operation 7: Save a Life campaign. A total of 10,000 smoke detectors will be handed out to eligible residents, focusing on senior citizens, lower-income residents, and those households with children, in the station's viewing area which includes North Jersey and much of Central Jersey.

“The distribution of these smoke detectors will assist vulnerable populations in New Jersey and will protect individuals and families from the dangers of fire,” said DCA Acting Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III. “Equipping homes with these devices can mean the difference between safety or tragedy. I thank WABC for their partnership in getting these detectors put into homes where they are needed.”

Since its outset, Operation 7: Save a Life New Jersey has received and distributed well over 100,000 smoke detectors donated by Kidde.

“Nothing is more important than fire prevention,” said Acting Director of the Division of Fire Safety William Kramer. “We always say the best way to fight a fire is to prevent it - and that’s what this program does each year.”

Operation 7: Save a Life seeks to increase public awareness about fire safety and prevention and focuses on how to prepare for and handle emergency situations. The campaign has helped distribute hundreds of thousands of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to individuals who otherwise couldn't afford them. WPVI-TV, Channel 6 – the ABC-affiliated station in Philadelphia – does a similar campaign for communities south of Burlington County.

The Division of Fire Safety is the central fire service agency in the State of New Jersey, responsible for the development and enforcement of the State Uniform Fire Code, public education programs and firefighter training programs.

For further information on the Division of Fire Safety, please log on to http://www.nj.gov/dca/dfs/, or call (609)633-6106.


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