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Lives Saved in Herman, Maine with AFG Grant
The AFG Program awarded the Herman Fire Department funding for their fire prevention program in January of 2005. The purpose of the award was to install smoke alarms equipped with 10-year lithium batteries, in every home in Herman, Maine. Herman is a small community of 4,400 people in the eastern part of the state of Maine.
The specifics of the project were to meet the protection recommendations of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This recommendation calls for an alarm outside every bedroom or hallway, one smoke alarm on every level of the home including the basement, and a smoke alarm in every room that could be considered a sleeping quarter.
Execution of the program started in April of 2005. The installers started at one end of town and proceeded to the other end with the installation of the alarms in every house. The homes that had existing alarms had their batteries replaced with the 10-year lithium cells. Chief Larry Willis was quoted as saying; “The race was on to see if we could complete the project before we had a serious incident in a residence that had not yet been visited”.
The alarm at the firehouse in Herman went off at 3:42 a.m. on December 27, 2005. The fire department responded to the alarm and arrived at a house on Mapleleaf Lane where a report of smoke had been detected. A malfunction in the furnace of the house set off the smoke alarm in the basement. This smoke alarm was placed there less than 2 months prior as part of the AFG funded program. Upon arriving at the scene, the firefighters found flames pouring out of the firebox and the entire house filled with smoke. But due to the early warning of the smoke alarms, the entire family was safely outside the residence.
As a result of the program in Herman, two thirds of all the homes are now equipped with smoke detectors. The Herman fire department still has smoke alarms available for any resident that wishes to have them installed.
The AFG program is so very important and this is a good example of lives saved due to the benefit of this grant money.
Click Here for Help with: AFG Grant Application.
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