In the simplest terms, what are local agencies expected to do if they are funded?
Local agencies must: Train personnel to properly install smoke alarms. This is important, even if they are already certified firefighters. Sign up people to receive smoke alarms. This can be done either in advance of installation or at the time of installation. Install smoke alarms in the homes where someone signed up. Enough alarms should be installed in each home to meet the guidelines of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Provide fire safety education to the residents of homes where smoke alarms are being installed, at the time that the alarms are installed. (This doesn’t mean a two-hour fire safety class, but it should include more than simply handing the residents a couple of brochures.) Provide public fire safety education programs in their community. This is where the local agency can be creative: the programs can be public events, school-based programs, programs that target senior citizens, safety programs for those who heat with wood stoves or space heaters, or a
