Since April the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department has installed 471 smoke alarms free of charge for residents across the county who didn’t have one.
It’s part of the “Get Alarmed Tennessee Smoke Alarm Program” by the State Fire Marshal’s Office to prevent home fire deaths in Tennessee.
Using grant funds awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the State Fire Marshal’s Office purchased 20,000 smoke alarms for distribution to fire departments in the state. Under the grant program, fire departments who participate are to install these smoke alarms in at-risk homes.
“The response has been fantastic here in DeKalb County. I believe it has been a huge success and I think it will continue to be a success as long as we can continue to get these smoke alarms,” said Brian Williams, Station Commander of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s Main Station.
“The County Fire Department has installed 471 smoke alarms (this year) and I have just picked up another 102 (to be installed), ” said Williams, who is responsible for installing the smoke alarms. “Most of the response is from elderly people. The oldest person we have served is a woman in Alexandria who is now 100 years old. She had never had a smoke alarm in her life. She was very thankful that we took the time to install a smoke alarm just for her safety and well being,” said Williams.
While many elderly persons have taken advantage of the free smoke alarms, the program is for anyone in need. “It’s for everybody. Anybody without a smoke alarm or without a properly working smoke alarm is considered at high risk. If you have a smoke alarm and it is ten years old, which is what is considered the shelf life of a smoke alarm, then it needs to be replaced,” said Williams.
Unlike many of the smoke alarms that are available in stores, those being installed by the county fire department are powered by a battery that doesn’t have to be changed twice a year. “We encourage people to get on board with these ten year smoke alarms,” said County Fire Chief Donny Green. “It doesn’t require any maintenance. We’re always reminding people to change batteries in their smoke alarms during the fall and spring with the time change but with these alarms you don’t have to do that. All you have to do after they are installed is just keep them clean. They will be there to serve for ten years. After that they will start chirping. It’s an audible alarm to let you know that the end of the shelf life of that smoke alarm is approaching and that it needs to be replaced,” said Chief Green.
The smoke alarms available under this grant program are not just for residents in the rural areas. Chief Green said the county fire department will also provide them to city dwellers. “These are available to anybody. If you don’t have a smoke alarm or if the one you have is ten years old or older you are at-risk and we want to provide you a new one. It doesn’t matter where you live in the county. If it’s Alexandria or the City of Smithville, Dowelltown, Liberty, or wherever it is you live in DeKalb County, you are eligible to get these smoke alarms,” said Chief Green.
The program also allows fire departments to receive, while supplies last, a limited amount of bed shaker alarms designed specifically for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. Priority for these specialty alarms is given to those who cannot afford to purchase the devices on their own. The county fire department has installed two bed shaker alarms this year in DeKalb County . “Smoke alarms are great but if you are deaf or can’t hear good they may not wake you,” said Chief Green. “With a bed shaker, you still have smoke alarms in your home and the alarms will sound off if you have a situation where there is smoke in the house. The alarm then sends a signal to a monitor that is set up on this bed shaker. The audible signal from the smoke alarm goes to the monitor. The monitor is connected to a round ball that goes underneath your bed mattress. When that monitor receives that signal from the smoke alarm, it activates the bed shaker and through an intense vibrating motion underneath the mattress, it wakes up the person in bed. These bed shaker alarms also have a flashing light,” said Chief Green.
Although hundreds have been served in DeKalb County, Chief Green said many more persons locally should take advantage of this free service because it could save lives. “If you know someone who needs a smoke alarm, help us spread the word. These alarms are free and we install them for free. We will not ask for a donation when we come to your home. We only ask that you let us put in these smoke alarms so that everyone in your home can be safer,” he said.
“It’s not only a safety feature for the public, but for the fire department as well. If someone is trapped in a home or needs to be rescued, we’re putting our firefighters at great risk by going into a house to try and rescue someone that might not have been alerted (by not having a working smoke alarm). But if they do have an alarm and can get out safely, then we’re not putting our firefighters at that kind of risk. It’s a dual benefit to the public and the firefighters,” Chief Green continued.
If you would like a free smoke alarm from the county fire department, contact Station Commander Brian Williams or Chief Donny Green. “It’s simple to make the request. All you have to do is call us and tell us your name, your address, and phone number and we’ll get you on the list. We make every effort for those who sign up for this program to let them know who is coming to their house, when we will be there, and when you can expect us. Brian has done all of our installations. Anytime he is out doing this, he has on some kind of shirt that has one of our official logos on it. He will always introduce himself. But more importantly, before he comes to your home, he will call you and say, “My name is Brian Williams, you have requested a smoke alarm, and I am on my way there and you can expect me”. That way you know nobody is going to show up at your door unannounced and you don’t have to wonder who it is,” added Chief Green.
Call Station Commander Brian Williams at 615-330-4066 or County Fire Chief Donny Green at 615-464-7176. You can also message them on Facebook. “We have a Facebook page, DeKalb County Fire Department, and if you want to request a smoke alarm on there you can go to our Facebook page and put a message on our wall or you can send us a private message on there,” Chief Green concluded.

A fire destroyed the home of Percy Pinegar, Jr at 4915 Keltonburg Road (Keltonburg Nursery) Wednesday night.
Central dispatch received the call at 6:13 p.m.
Members of the Midway, Belk, Keltonburg, Short Mountain Highway, and Blue Springs stations of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department responded along with the tanker truck, DeKalb EMS, and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
The fire apparently spread quickly and firefighters could not save the home.
Members of the family were reportedly at home at the time of the fire but escaped without injury.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident the single wide trailer home of Kenneth Pack at 1399 Old Bildad Road was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning.
Central dispatch received the call at 1:32 a.m.
According to Lieutenant Kyle Caspar of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, Pack was cooking when a grease fire ignited in the kitchen. By the time Pack got out of the trailer, flames were coming through the roof.
Although firefighters could not save the trailer, they were able to keep the blaze from spreading to an outbuilding.
No one was injured.
Members of the Short Mountain Highway, Keltonburg, Belk, and Main Station responded from the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department along with the tanker truck.

The employees and staff at DeKalb Community and Stones River Hospital raised over $2,500 to purchase Christmas gifts for the teens at Indian Mound Home for Boys located in DeKalb County, Tennessee. Gifts included requested and needed items including shoes, clothes and work boots.
The hospital hosted a pizza party in honor of the boys including a visit from Santa himself. When asked about his gifts, one teen replied, “This is so cool! I got everything I asked for on my list. I can’t wait to get back and try on my new Nikes.”
“Of all the things our hospitals do to help the community, this is the event I love the most,” said Director Linda Gagne, “It is such a special time for us as well as the boys.”
“I would like to thank all of the employees for all of the fund raisers and hard work throughout the year to make this happen,” said HR Assistant Jennifer Tramel, “We could never say enough about the good-hearted people who help all year long for this one special day. It warms my heart.”
DeKalb Community and Stones River Hospital have provided much needed Christmas items for Indian Mound boys for many years. Both hospitals would like to thank the community along with their employees for supporting this wonderfu l annual tradition.
To donate to the Indian Mound Boys Home Christmas Fund, contact HR Assistant Jennifer Tramel (615) 215-5370
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Pictured: Angela Stockton, Denise Griffin, Brian Woods and CFO Alan Sharp of DeKalb Community and Stones River Hospital gather gifts to distribute to the eager teens of Indian Mound Home for Boys in DeKalb County, Tennessee.
Pictured: First grade students of West Side School eagerly await a special treat of milk and cookies from Stones River Hospital Dietary Department.

Three people were injured in a two car crash Monday afternoon on Allen Ferry Road near the intersection of Highway 56 north by Village Market.
Corporal Travis Bryant of the Smithville Police Department told WJLE that 27 year old Kimberly Blanchfield of Dowelltown was driving east on Allen Ferry Road in a Hyundai Sonata when she crossed the center line into the path of a Honda Fit, driven by 22 year old Miguel Campos-Leal of Smithville, who was going west. The vehicles hit head-on. The Honda Fit came to rest in a ditch by the road.
A four year old boy was a passenger with Blanchfield. Corporal Bryant said the child was restrained in the back seat.
All were taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital. Miguel Campos-Leal was airlifted from the hospital by helicopter and flown to Vanderbilt Hospital.
Corporal Bryant said Miguel Campos-Leal is cited for driving without a license and failure to show proof of insurance.
Other officers of the Smithville Police Department assisted Corporal Bryant at the scene. Members of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department were also there to help.

The search for a man trying to evade arrest Monday night escalated with shots being fired at a patrol car during a pursuit before daybreak early Tuesday morning.
35 year old Kevin Glenn Smith remains at large and is wanted by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. He has a criminal history of drug offenses, burglaries, thefts, and an escape. Smith is now facing new felony charges in DeKalb County. He also has warrants against him in Warren, Coffee, and Cannon County.
The story unfolded Monday evening when Detectives of the Sheriff’s Department went to a residence on Pea Ridge Road, Liberty to attempt to serve a Failure to Appear warrant on Smith’s girlfriend, 26 year old Lydia Renee Judkins of Jefferson Road, Smithville.
When Detectives made contact with Smith, who was in a Nissan Pathfinder, Smith started the engine and sped away, almost hitting the officers. Smith drove down a logging road where the officers could not follow in their patrol car and got away.
A couple of hours later, someone reported finding an overturned and abandoned Nissan Pathfinder on the Alexandria to Dismal Road. It was believed to be the same vehicle that Smith had been driving when he was last seen by Detectives on Pea Ridge Road. Sheriff Ray said that the Pathfinder was stolen from another county. The tag on the vehicle was also stolen from a different county.
Sheriff Ray said after the Pathfinder was found, other law enforcement agencies were summoned to join the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department in the search for Smith. “When we found the vehicle, we alerted Putnam County’s K-9 unit and they came over with their track dog. We also called for a THP helicopter to fly over with their fleer system which is a heat sensing device,” said Sheriff Ray in an interview with WJLE Tuesday night.
As help arrived, the sheriff’s department got a tip that Smith had already left the area. “We received information that Smith had already been picked up and taken to a residence in the city limits of Dowelltown. We left the scene on the Alexandria to Dismal Road where the Pathfinder was found and went to Dowelltown where we learned that somebody had taken Smith from there to meet someone around Statesville Road off Highway 96 in Wilson County. We got Wilson County officers to go with us over there to do some saturated patrols to see if we could find this vehicle but we never could locate it,” said Sheriff Ray.
On the way back before daybreak Tuesday morning, sheriff’s department detectives spotted a suspicious pickup truck in Dowelltown. But when they tried to stop it to investigate, the truck took off and a pursuit ensued. “On our way back when we were driving between Liberty and Dowelltown, detectives saw a white Toyota Tacoma that was suspicious. The truck was on Main Street in Dowelltown but turned onto Highway 70. When the detectives turned around on the vehicle, it began to flee. There were two people in the truck and by the direction of travel that the truck went, we believe Kevin Smith was one of the persons in that vehicle. The pursuit went from Highway 70 to Highway 53 in Liberty, then to Sycamore Road, Hawkins Hill Road, Highway 96, to Statesville Road and then to various roads off Statesville Road near where Smith had been dropped off earlier. During the pursuit, one of the persons in the truck fired a weapon numerous times at the lead patrol car. The detectives did not return fire. For safety of the officers and the public, the detectives backed off the pursuit. Wilson County Sheriff’s Department and Watertown Police Department officers were trying to get in position to get the truck stopped, but the driver kept taking roads left and right and finally got away,” said Sheriff Ray.
The Tacoma pickup is also believed to have been stolen because the tag on it was stolen in Wilson County only three days ago (Saturday).
Though Smith has not threatened to harm the public, he is believed to be armed and witnesses have claimed he has said that if he were to be approached by law enforcement officers, he would make them shoot him because he is not going back to prison.
If anyone has information as to the whereabouts of Smith, please call the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department or Central Dispatch at 215-3000. Smith has many tattoos on his body.
According to Sheriff Ray, Smith has no known primary residence. “Through our investigation, he and his girlfriend have been staying with friends or sleeping in vehicles,” he said.
Sheriff Ray wishes to thank Chief Mark Collins of the Alexandria Police Department for calling in an off duty officer when authorities thought the search for Smith might reach Alexandria.