Cape's fire department receives smoke detector grant

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department will install smoke detectors in high-risk homes this fall as part of a $64,000 federal Homeland Security grant, fire chief Rick Ennis said Thursday.

The grant will fund the purchase of 4,800 smoke detectors as well as 4,800 additional batteries that would replace dead batteries in existing smoke detectors, he said.

Also included in the funding is money for video presentations to help educate the public about the need for working smoke detectors and encourage residents to have an escape plan in the event of a house fire.

The entire fire prevention program will cost $71,000. The city is providing the 10 percent match or $7,100, Ennis said.

The fire department hopes to partner with civic groups to distribute the smoke detectors in neighborhoods this fall where there is a high risk of fire, starting in the southern part of the city, the fire chief said.

Citywide, 82 percent of the fires occur on the city's south side, Ennis said.

The fire chief said off-duty firefighters would help install the smoke detectors. The grant includes some funding to pay for their labor, he said.

The fire department also plans to provide some type of incentive, possibly neighborhood block parties, to encourage residents to develop home escape plans, Ennis said.