On Saturday, Jan. 15, ten Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise and 13 representatives of the Novato Fire Protection District revisited the Los Robles Mobile Home Park and offered free smoke alarms, batteries and alarm testing to the park’s residents. 51 new smoke alarms were installed and 100 batteries were given out.
Tragically, just weeks after eight Rotarians and eight firefighters distributed 34 new smoke detectors and replaced 100 batteries at Los Robles, a resident of the park died in a December fire. With renewed awareness and concern, the park manager asked if the Smoke Alarm Project could come back for another visit.
Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise, the ‘Smoke Alarm Project’ is a program which provides smoke alarm testing, free battery replacement and free smoke alarms to each of the Novato mobile homes parks.
Residents are notified with a flier prior to the Smoke Alarm Project team coming to the park, but many of the residents are not at home or prefer not to be disturbed. Some residents fill out the flier requesting that batteries or smoke detectors be left for them but many do not.
Due to the lightweight and above ground construction of mobile homes, residents have little time for a safe escape in the event of a fire. Compounding the hazard is the density of homes in mobile home parks. Once one home starts burning the next home is just a few yards away and a domino effect can be disastrous.
The smoke alarms that are offered now have a silence feature allowing residents to ‘snooze’ the alarm should it go off for a non-emergency reason. To ensure optimal operation, The Novato Fire Protection District recommends changing your smoke alarm batteries when you change your clocks for day light savings time.
The Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise meets at Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant at 15 Rowland Way in Vintage Oaks Shopping Center at 7:15AM every Tuesday. For more information visit the club’s web site: www.novatosunriserotary.org.
