Springfield Fire Department releases quarterly report

(From the Springfield Fire Department)

The Springfield Fire Department continued its efforts to improve fire safety in the community in the 2nd quarter of 2017 through its Project RED Zone program. Firefighters spent Saturday afternoons visiting every home in the West Central Neighborhood, checking and installing free smoke alarms and providing fire safety information. From April through June, they visited a total of 2,500 homes, testing nearly 900 fire alarms to ensure they are working. They also visited over 1,200 apartment units. In June, crews began visiting homes in the Grant Beach neighborhood.

As a result of Project RED Zone, and additional installations of alarms by request, in just three months, Springfield Fire crews installed 660 new smoke alarms and provided 219 batteries for existing alarms. By comparison, during the same period last year, firefighters installed 175 new smoke alarms and 130 batteries.

This aggressive campaign to ensure every home has working smoke alarms comes as fire calls in Springfield continue to rise. During the second quarter of 2017, fire crews responded to 65 fires, while responding to 35 during the same period last year. The leading cause of building fires is related to cooking, accounting for 30% of our accidental structure fires. Total calls for service for the Fire Department are up 10%, with medical calls falling slightly. For more information, see our entire quarterly fire safety report.