Wake Up Delaware works, deserves support

In 2010, 15 people died in Delaware fires. Last year, that number was two, the lowest fire death rate since record-keeping began in the 1970s.

Delaware’s volunteer firefighters say smoke detectors are key to preventing deaths, and they spend hundreds of hours every year on fire-prevention education.

Sussex County Volunteer Firefighters Association President Bill Henry Buckaloo says volunteers from all county departments distribute fire detectors and batteries to people who need them. They also educate children in all local schools to ensure families know what to do if there’s a fire.

Buckaloo says those efforts were assisted by Wake Up Delaware, a federal program that paid for fire detectors and batteries.  Funding for Wake Up Delaware ended last year, but local volunteers asked Sussex County to pick up the tab. When Sussex officials agreed to pay $15,000 to support the program, New Castle and Kent counties also stepped up to the plate.

“What we’re doing is working,” Buckaloo said. “The county stepped in and did the right thing, and that’s good news.”

Todd Reilly, vice president of Sussex County Volunteer Firefighters Association and chairman of the Wake Up Delaware committee, said the program has distributed 120,000 fire detectors over the past eight years. Still, neither home where last year’s fires occurred had working smoke detectors even though one of last year’s victims was a longtime member of her local fire department’s ladies auxiliary.

“If one of our own doesn’t have a working smoke detector, we know we have to keep this program going,” Reilly said.

Reilly also said firefighters are looking for corporate sponsors next year, and they hope to begin home inspections to ensure every household in Delaware has a smoke detector.

Sussex County’s support for this critical program was a critical step in the right direction. Delaware is fortunate to have so many dedicated fire department volunteers, and it is up to all of us ­– local governments, businesses and individuals ­– to ensure they have the funds to continue the great work they do.