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Association donates fire alarms to Springfield homes with hard-of-hearing residents

Association donates fire alarms to Springfield homes with hard-of-hearing residents

The "Be Alarmed!" program has provided more than 50,000 special smoke alarms for Illinois homes with deaf or hard of hearing residents. Photo: Saga Communications/Chandler Smith


Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Camp I Am Me, an Illinois non-profit fire safety organization, partnered with Springfield School and Springfield Fire officials to expand on it’s “Be Alarmed” program. This program provides Fire Alarms for deaf or hard hearing families in Illinois.

Are these alarms easy and accessible?

“Accessible, it could be a little tough,” said Philip Zaleski, executive director. “These units can cost anywhere from $300 to $400 per unit, which is significantly more than your typical generic home smoke alarm. So, there is a financial barrier for many people that may need these devices, but may not be able to afford them.”

“However, through Camp I Am Me, and Springfield Fire Department. we are able to provide those units to Springfield fire and in turn they can protect their residents at no cost,” said Zaleski.

Camp I Am Me has distributed over 52,000 of these specialized alarms to the deaf and hard hearing families of Illinois.  It’s a project backed by the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance.

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