Saturday May, 14 2011 Nature: Fire Prevention / Fill the Boot Campaign Address: SuperG – Giant Foods – Plaza Drive, Long Neck On Saturday, May 14th, the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company hosted a “Fire Prevention & Fill the Boot” Campaign at the Giant Foods location on Plaza Drive just off of John J. Williams Highway. The Fire Prevention Campaign was an effort to distribute free Smoke Detectors and CO Detectors to households in order to promote the practice of fire prevention safety and awareness. This initiative is part of a statewide campaign known as “Wake Up Delaware”. Wake Up Delaware - Fire companies throughout Delaware hand out FREE smoke detectors and replacement batteries to residents, as part of the continuing fire safety initiative. All 86 fire stations statewide participate in providing battery-operated smoke detectors, replacement 9-volt batteries and fire prevention information to residents who visit the firehouses or places of demonstrations. Residents are encouraged to visit their local firehouse or publicity sites and locations to receive the free detectors and batteries and are asked to provide address information to assist fire department personnel in their continuing effort to ensure that every household in Delaware has at least one working smoke detector in place. Brochures describing recommended installation practices are also available in English and Spanish. Persons requiring assistance with installation or replacement are encouraged to ask their fire company for help. Despite documented "saves" resulting directly from this initiative, it is still estimated that as many as half of the homes in Delaware are not equipped with working smoke detectors. A fire earlier this year in Roxana, DE that took the life of one person revealed the absence of working detectors in the involved residence. The Wake Up Delaware program was conceived in 2001 by members of the fire service, as the direct result of the tragic deaths of 16 Delawareans in two residential fires, five (5) deaths in Broadkill in October 2000 and eleven (11) deaths in Indian River in January 2001, where there were no working smoke detectors in place. This marks the 20th time (two per year since 2002) that firefighters have distributed free smoke detectors and batteries to residents statewide as part of this program. The distribution days take place in conjunction with the change of the clocks to and from daylight savings time or as other programs permit. The October distribution date is also the day of the national fire safety initiative known as "Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery," sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, in conjunction with the Energizer Battery Company. Wake Up Delaware has been recognized as the only initiative of its kind in the United States, where all fire stations in a state join together at the same time on a given day to distribute free smoke detectors and batteries to residents. Fill The Boot Campaign is an effort to raise operating funds. The Indian River Volunteer Fire Company would like to acknowledge the patronage and participation of all who contributed to this event.