The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) proudly announce the 500th life-saving alert by a smoke alarm installed as part of the “Get Alarmed, Tennessee!” program.
Launched in 2012, “Get Alarmed” is an in-home fire safety education and smoke alarm installation program created to help reduce the risk of home fire deaths. Through this grant-funded program, the SFMO has partnered with Tennessee fire departments and volunteer organizations to install 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms for Tennessee residents.
To date, more than 306,277 smoke alarms have been distributed through “Get Alarmed” to Tennessee fire departments and over 265,000 have been installed.
As part of tracking the program’s effectiveness, Tennessee fire departments provide statistical information to the SFMO when a “Get Alarmed” smoke alarm alerts a resident to a fire.
The 500th alert occurred at a home fire on March 19, 2024, in Pigeon Forge that was verified by the Pigeon Forge Fire Department after the home’s occupant evacuated the structure.
“’Get Alarmed’ is helping fulfill Governor Lee’s vision for improving Tennessee communities by focusing on improving safety and reducing the loss of life through home fires,” said State Fire Marshal and TDCI Commissioner Carter Lawrence. “I heartily commend Tennessee’s fire service as well as state and local leaders who have been instrumental to this program’s ongoing success. I urge Tennessee residents who are in need of working smoke alarms to contact your local fire department and ask if they participate in ‘Get Alarmed Tennessee’ today.”
Working smoke alarms combined with fire safety education and other fire prevention methods have contributed to Tennessee improving its overall rate of fire fatalities.
According to a recent study by the University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service, if the current level of participation in the “Get Alarmed” program is sustained, more than 50 lives will be saved in Tennessee each of the remaining years of this decade. Once ranked among the highest states in the country for its rate of unintentional civilian fire deaths, Tennessee’s fire death rate has decreased and will likely continue to decline, according to data collected from 2003-2022.
“This encouraging trend suggests that efforts by state and local fire officials to minimize fire fatalities have yielded results in the desired direction,” the study’s authors wrote.
“The 500th life-saving alert is a milestone for the ‘Get Alarmed’ program, our Department, and the entire State of Tennessee,” said interim Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Marybeth Gribble. “By working with our local partners in the Tennessee fire service, this program has helped make Tennessee a national leader among our peers.”
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