Northwest Alaska residents can upgrade smoke alarms in their homes this summer.
Northwest Arctic Borough will distribute and install lithium-powered 10-year sealed smoke alarms in every village starting in May, said Chris Hatch, borough director of public safety. The borough will also educate residents on how alarms work, how to test them and how to have a home fire escape plan. Their first visit will be to Noorvik on May 9.
“Smoke Alarms are the most effective early warning device there is during a fire incident and essential to saving lives,” borough officials said in a Facebook post. “Our goal is to make sure residents have the protection of a smoke alarm.”
Regional battalion fire chiefs identified the need for installing smoke alarms in villages after six people were killed in the fire in Noorvik in January, Hatch said.