SCRANTON, Pa. — Two fires in the past week—one in Philadelphia and one in New York City—claimed the lives of 31 people, including more than a dozen children.
Even miles away, firefighters in Scranton say those tragedies have been difficult to watch.
"It definitely sticks with you for a long time," said Scranton Fire Chief John Judge. "Our hearts go out to those families and the firefighters who had to deal with it in both Philadelphia and New York."
In Philadelphia, firefighters said some of the units involved did not have working smoke detectors.
In New York, officials believe the fire at a high-rise in the Bronx was started by a space heater.
"We've had fires over the years that were caused by them, and sometimes it's just overloading an electrical outlet or using an older device that maybe you shouldn't use. You want to make sure you're following the manufacturer's recommendations."
Chief Judge says the recent fires highlight the importance of an effort in the Electric City to get smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors in as many homes as possible.
Since 2020, firefighters have provided free detectors to several hundred homeowners with plans to put in at least another 1,000 this year. The fire department will come and install them for free, too.
Each one has a lithium-ion battery that lasts ten years.
"The earlier we're notified, we can mitigate that incident quicker and hopefully protect lives and ultimately property damage, save property damage as well. That's our goal."
The Scranton Fire Department is keeping track of all the homes that receive the smoke and CO detectors. That way, when those lithium-ion batteries die in about a decade, they can reach back out to check on those homeowners.
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