Charlotte Fire Joins Statewide Push to Install Smoke Alarms

Published on June 07, 2025

Engine 15’s Firefighter Bennett, Captain Hutchison, Engineer Shipp, and Firefighter Hough take part in the statewide Smoke Alarm Saturday canvass. The crew visited homes, installed free smoke alarms, and spoke with residents about preventing the most common causes of house fires.

By Kevin Campbell, Charlotte Fire 

A working smoke alarm can mean the difference between life and death. That truth weighs heavily on Charlotte Fire crews as they knock on doors across the city today, offering to install alarms, share fire safety tips, and prevent another tragedy.

It’s all part of Smoke Alarm Saturday, a statewide initiative led by the North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal. Fire departments across the state are canvassing high-risk neighborhoods to install free smoke alarms and remind residents that a few seconds of warning can save an entire family.

Engineer Venessa Roy and Captain Joshua Brown take a moment during installations to show the tools they’re using to improve safety, one home at a time.

“Too many lives are lost in fires where there were no working smoke alarms,” said Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson. “We’re not just handing out devices, we’re giving people a better chance to survive.”

Crews from nine different Charlotte firehouses are participating in today’s outreach, focusing their efforts in neighborhoods they identified as most in need. Charlotte Fire received 54 smoke alarms through a grant from the Office of State Fire Marshal, and each of the nine firehouses received alarms to install as part of the campaign.

Norman Franklin from the NC Office of State Fire Marshal joins Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson in highlighting the importance of working smoke alarms during the statewide initiative.

The effort is personal for many firefighters, especially in light of the fatal fire on Montford Drive earlier this year. In that case, a man died in a home where smoke alarms were found only on the lower level, not on the main floor where the fire broke out.

That’s why today’s work matters.

As part of the statewide initiative, participating departments were asked to target high-risk areas and provide fire safety education during each home visit.

With smoke alarms in hand, Firefighter Bennett and Captain Hutchison of Engine 15 support Charlotte Fire’s mission to protect homes through education and early detection.

“This outreach is part of our responsibility to protect lives beyond emergency response,” Chief Johnson said. “We want residents to know that we’re here to serve, not just when a call comes in, but also in the work we do to prevent those calls in the first place.”

Charlotte Fire also operates a year-round smoke alarm installation program. Residents who are unable to participate in today’s event can still request a free alarm through the department’s website. Those requests are reviewed by the department’s fire educators, who assess each home’s needs and determine eligibility.

Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson joins Engine 22’s crew in the field as they bring life-saving smoke alarms directly to homes across the community.

To see if you qualify for a free smoke alarm installation, click this link. 

Charlotte Fire encourages all residents to test their smoke alarms regularly, replace batteries as needed, and reach out for assistance if alarms aren’t functioning.

Smoke alarms don’t just make a sound. They save lives. And today, Charlotte Fire is making sure more homes have that protection.

Engine 15’s Engineer Shipp and Firefighter Hough prepare to install smoke alarms during Smoke Alarm Saturday, a statewide initiative to save lives through prevention.