Overview:
The Athol Fire Department has been recognized for efforts to install free smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors throughout the community, in collaboration with the Red Cross. According to Luca Calvani, Red Cross Community Disaster Program Manager, having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of house fires by about 50%. The department's efforts have saved five lives, and they have also increased fire safety awareness through community-wide efforts.
ATHOL – Efforts by the Fire Department and Red Cross to ensure the community has access to smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were recently recognized by the Selectboard.
At the board’s meeting on May 19, Red Cross Community Disaster Program Manager Luca Calvani said that house fires claim the lives of seven people every single day in the U.S. and that having working smoke alarms can cut that risk by about 50%.
“Over the last eight to ten years, the Athol Fire Department and the Red Cross have been partnering and installing free smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors throughout the community to make the community safer,” he said.
Calvani noted that in 2025, fires occurred in two of the homes in which the Athol Fire Department had installed smoke alarms.
“The people in those two homes,” Calvani continued, “were able to get out safely because of the efforts of the Athol Fire Department in installing these smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.”
He also credited the department for its community-wide effort to increase fire safety awareness, including the need for families to establish an escape plan in the event of a fire.
Calvani then presented an award to Athol Fire Chief Jeff Parker in recognition “of the five lives that have been saved by the Athol Fire Department, in collaboration with the Red Cross smoke alarm program. We look forward to continuing to work with you.”