Courant – As fires go, the one that broke out at a three-family house in Collinsville on Sunday was relatively modest. No one was hurt and residents of the building were able to return after the blaze was extinguished.
Fire department officials said smoke alarms were crucial to residents getting out quickly.
With that in mind, the department will run a campaign on March 9 when they will remind people to replace the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
“I can’t emphasize enough the critical importance of having working smoke and CO alarms in the home,” fire department Capt. Wayne Goeben said in a statement. “They save lives and reduce damage to property.”
On March 9, town firefighters will go door to door asking homeowners if they have changed the batteries in their smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors. People who need fresh batteries can get them from firefighters for free. As part of the campaign, firefighters will ask how old people’s detectors are and offer to provide them new ones for free if they are 10 years old or more, said department spokeswoman Sylvia Cancella. She said batteries and detectors have been donated by sponsors.
Cancella said the department has done this campaign every year since 2006, on the same day that daylight savings time begins. She said the department will pick neighborhoods that have not been visited in a few years.
The fire on Sunday broke about at about 3 a.m., Cancella said. She said the blaze got started in a wall next to the fireplace of the ground-floor apartment and was put out quickly. Fire crews cleared the scene by 5 a.m. Cancella said.
The intersection of Bridge Street and Torrington Avenue was partially closed while firefighters worked at the scene and Cancella said firefighters from Burlington Volunteer Fire Department and New Hartford Fire Department helped out. The Avon Volunteer Fire Department stood by at the Collinsville firehouse in case there was another fire call.