Firefighters Fix Smoke Detectors in Penfield

“It shows that you are are watching over us. It makes me feel good,” said Shirley Simms, resident.

Shirley Simms lives next door to the empty lot that use to house the mobile home that caught on fire in January. She said she saw it happen.

“I was laying in bed and all of a sudden this big flash went through my bedroom window,” said Simms.

That flash is something Simms says she remembers vividly. This early morning fire took the lives of Tyler Doohan and three family members. Penfield Fire Chief Chris Ebmeyer says the home was not equipped with a smoke detector, which could have saved their lives.

“On an annual basis, 3,400 people lose their lives in residential house fires and over 17,500 people are injured. The national fire protection estimates two-thirds of these fires could be prevented if they had an actual working smoke detector in their residence,” said Ebmeyer.

Fighters from Penfield, East Rochester, Egypt, Brighton and Fishers fire departments decided to take to the streets to warn people about the dangers. They told residents batteries in smoke detectors need to be changed at least once a year and new detectors should be installed every 7 years. To help residents get started, they passed out 300 smoke detectors donated from Kidde USA and batteries from Senator Ted O’Brien.

“They did find one that wasn’t working and we’re very happy that they fixed it immediately,” said Kellie Thompson.

Thompson is Simms daughter. She says she has been worried ever since the fire with her mother living so close. She feels by them finding a broken detector and fixing it they saved her parents lives.

“I know they are saving lives today. I know they saved my parents life because that smoke detector they replaced is right by my dads bedroom,” said Thompson.