2019 started tragically for two families in Los Angeles, as fire ripped through two homes, leaving one person dead in each fire. Whenever a fatality fire occurs in the City, MySafe:LA will deploy a team to canvass the block involved, installing free smoke alarms and working to assist families as it relates to fire safety.
The morning began in downtown Los Angeles, after a fatal fire just east of the 5 freeway. MySafe:LA educators and public safety members visited homes in the block surrounding the involved structure and installed alarms in multiple homes, as well as teaching residents about what to say to a 911 call taker, how to escape a burning home, and why once outside, re-entry is not to be considered. Firefighters, including Assistant Chief Kwame Cooper, just a few days from retirement, walked along with MySafe:LA members.
Immediately upon completion of the morning canvassing, the same MySafe:LA team headed to the Sylmar section of the San Fernando Valley, where another fatality fire had occurred. Following a briefing at fire station 91, the neighborhood was canvassed, and a significant number of smoke alarms were installed in just one long block.
In addition to installing free smoke alarms in homes that do not have them, new alarms are installed when already in place alarms prove to be non-functional or more than ten years old.
The “Smoke Alarm Field Education” initiative, developed by MySafe:LA and the LAFD in 2014, continues to reach communities following significant or fatal fires anywhere in the greater Los Angeles region.
Learn more about smoke alarms on our website: www.mysafela.org/smoke-alarms/
Besides smoke alarms, your family needs a plan – an escape plan. If you don’t have one, you can download one for free right now.
You learn how to create an escape plan by watching this short video about escaping fire on our website.
Once you’re outside, you’ll need to call 9-1-1. Another short video on our website will teach you what to say, so that first responders get there fast.
