City receives $2,000 to fund smoke detectors, awareness campaign
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Acting Coatesville Fire Chief Jim Lentz (from left), Greg Cary from PECO, City Manager Kirby Hudson, City Council President David C. Collins, District Attorney Tom Hogan, and Safe Kids Chester County’s Lori Aguilera and Shawn Vovericz display the ceremonial checks.
Coatesville firefighters recently went door-to-door offering smoke detectors and batteries during Fire Prevention Week; however, the effort was part of an ongoing campaign to keep residents safe, not a special observance.
In a city of 13,100 that has experienced a disproportionate share of fire tragedies, life-saving efforts will continue and got a substantial boost this morning.
Coatesville Acting Fire Chief Jim Lentz accepted two ceremonial checks, each representing a $1,000 donation. One was presented by Greg Cary, regional external affairs manager at PECO Energy, and the other by Lori Aguilera and Shawn Vovericz from Safe Kids Chester County, a nonprofit administered by the District Attorney’s Office.
“On behalf of the City, the Fire Department, and all of its residents, we would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to PECO Energy and Safe Kids Chester County for their generosity,” said Lentz.
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan (left) discusses fire-prevention initiatives with Acting Coatesville Fire Chief Jim Lentz.
For years, PECO has been instrumental in assisting the Coatesville Bureau of Fire, donating thousands of dollars for the purchase of smoke detectors, fire prevention materials, and other home safety appliances, Lentz said.
New this year to Coatesville’s fire prevention campaign is Safe Kids Chester County, a broad-based, structured community coalition which seeks to reduce and prevent accidental childhood injuries and deaths to children 14 and under through a multifaceted strategy of public awareness, education, public policy advocacy and community action.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of this,” said Aguilera.
In addition to smoke detectors, Lentz said the Safe Kids donation will fund door-knob hangers that will let residents who are not home during firefighters’ visits know how to reach the department. The hangers will be printed in both English and Spanish to serve the community better, Lentz said.
On Sept. 18, a fire in the 500 block of East Chestnut Street killed a Hispanic mother and child and displaced more than 30; firefighters said the home did not have working smoke detectors.
Lentz said last Saturday four teams of four to five members from the Fire Department, the Red Cross and the Chester County Fire Marshalls Office spent two hours canvassing seven blocks of Charles Street.
“We installed 30 smoke detectors & 13 smoke-detector batteries,” Lentz said. “That’s a lot.”
Although the fact that so many homes were unprotected raised concern, Lentz said many homeowners reported having received smoke detectors from the city during a spate of arsons that terrified residents in 2008 and 2009.
But Lentz said many absentee landlords still haven’t gotten the message that it’s their responsibility to install smoke detectors on every floor and in every bedroom. “The program is not designed to supplement their legal requirement,” Lentz said.
He urged homeowners who have not installed smoke detectors, which are free to city residents, to call the smoke detector hotline at 610-384-0300, ext. 3111.
Some Coatesville absentee landlords don’t fix leaking roofs, bad plumbing and electric wiring.
“But Lentz said many absentee landlords still haven’t gotten the message that it’s their responsibility to install smoke detectors on every floor and in every bedroom. “The program is not designed to supplement their legal requirement,” Lentz said.”
I do think our Coatesville Codes Office is a mess. But it isn’t always easy for a Codes Inspector to get inside of a rented building, or to get a landlord to actually fix something instead of going to court.