Law firm donates 500 smoke alarms to DFD

Farmington Hills-based Fabian, Sklar & King, P.C., a law firm specializing in representing victims of fires and explosions, will donate 500 10-year sealed lithium battery operated smoke alarms to the Detroit Fire Department (DFD) to help raise awareness for Fire Prevention Week, which takes place Oct. 8-14.

This is the eighth consecutive year that Fabian, Sklar & King has supplied the DFD with these life saving tools — bringing their cumulative total of smoke alarms donated to the DFD to 4,000. The smoke alarms are distributed throughout the Detroit community upon request and installed free of charge by members of the Detroit Fire Department. In addition to Fabian, Sklar & King’s donation of 500 smoke alarms, Kidde, the manufacturer of the devices, will donate 100 — bringing the total number of smoke alarms donated to 600.

“During a fire, seconds count and can make a difference with the time you have to escape safely,” said Stuart Sklar. “After dealing with hundreds of fire injury and explosion cases, we understand just how valuable these devises are, which is why we continue to donate smoke alarms to the Detroit Fire Department year after year and make these life-saving devices available to the residents of Detroit free of charge.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), only 20 percent of all home fires occur between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., yet 50 percent of home fire deaths occur during these fires. This places critical importance on ensuring working smoke alarms are installed in homes and changed every 10 years. If the alarm is not a sealed 10-year model, residents should change the batteries at least every six months. It also emphasizes the importance of developing and practicing a home fire escape plan. This goes hand-in-hand with the NFPA’s 2017 Fire Prevention Week theme of “Every Second Counts.”
To request the installation of a smoke detector, citizens can contact the Detroit Fire Department at (313) 596-2900.