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72 smoke alarms installed during Gainesville Fire Department blitz
Firefighters were checking to make sure citizens' alarms worked
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Lt. David Stringer with the Gainesville Fire Department checks a smoke detector in a residence along Mill Street in Gainesville to make sure it is working properly Tuesday afternoon as Kim Martin looks on. - photo by Erin O. Smith
Nick Watson
Updated: March 16, 2016, 7:16 p.m.

Blazing through Gainesville neighborhoods, the city fire department installed smoke alarms and performed safety checks.

Division Chief Keith Smith said the blitz Tuesday led to 72 smoke alarm installations and 13 carbon monoxide detector installations.

Another dozen or so homes had batteries installed.

“One of our biggest problems is a lot of people aren’t home when we come around,” Smith said.

The homes with installations were on Mill Street, McDonald Street, DeSota Street, Dunbar Street, Patricia Drive and Emily Drive.

The batteries installed in the smoke detectors are 10-year batteries.

“The older ones, we suggest changing those when the time changes,” Smith said.

Firefighters installing devices in several houses focused on having an alarm near the sleeping areas.

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