Paint Township Volunteer Fire Department to distibute free detectors
By Kyle Valentini
April 19, 2011
323
Summary: Thanks to a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, residents in the jurisdiction of the Paint Township Volunteer Fire Department will be offered free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors for their homes. The detectors will be distributed through a door-to-door campaign throughout the month of May.
The Paint Township Volunteer Fire Department at Winesburg will be making the community a safer place by distributing free smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors for residents. The department volunteers will begin a door-to-door campaign May 2 to distribute the detectors and will continue throughout the month of May and into June if necessary.
Dennis Scheufler, fire chief with the 30 member volunteer department said, Many members of the community use gas appliances instead of electric. There is definitely a need for the detectors. We were fortunate to receive a grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is allowing us to give the detectors to residents at no cost to them. The detectors include lithium batteries. We can even install them for residents who are unable to do it themselves.
The grant the department received was written by Gatchell Grant Resources at Canton. The grant totaled $51,500 and the department contributed $2700 of their own money to implement the program.
The department was able to purchase 500 carbon monoxide detectors and 700 pairs of smoke detectors. Many residents dont have detectors in their homes, said Scheufler. Others have them but they are outdated. Scheufler recommends that detectors be updated at least every ten years.
The Paint Township Volunteer Fire department covers about forty square miles in parts of Paint, Walnut Creek and Salt Creek Townships. We have divided the area into sections and will send volunteer fire fighters out in twos to distribute the detectors, said Scheufler. Our volunteers will have identification badges so residents will know who they are. Residents are not required to accept the free detectors.
The smoke detectors and the carbon monoxide detectors will be distributed on the basis of need. Those with single story homes will receive one detector and homes with two or more stories will receive 2-3 depending on the size of the home. We will look at the need case by case to insure residents with the most need get them first, said Scheufler.
Scheufler, a dairy farmer, has been with the department since 1983 and has served as chief for the last 19 years. The department holds regular monthly meetings that include squad training and fire training in order to comply with state regulations requiring continuing education hours. The department is funded by local tax dollars and numerous fundraisers throughout the year that include auctions and BBQs.
We are well received in the community, said Scheufler. Residents know they can call us when they need help.
If residents have not been contacted by the department by June, Scheufler asks they call the firehouse at 330-359-5003 to request a detector.
The Paint Township Volunteer Fire department is located at 2089 US 62, Winesburg.
