.jpg)
Wlaf1450‘Need a smoke detector, call us, and we’ll bring you one and install it’- CCRFS Chief Daniel Lawson
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- “It’s a small thing that can make a difference,” said Campbell County Rural Fire Chief Daniel Lawson. The “small thing” the chief is referencing is a smoke detector. It is proven that working smoke detectors save lives, according to Lawson.
“If anyone who lives in Campbell County does not have a working smoke detector, they can contact us at 423.563.9983, and we will bring one or more to them and install them,” said Lawson.
In the wee hours of Sunday morning, a working smoke detector quite possibly saved four lives, and it certainly kept all four individuals from sustaining any injuries. Around 3:30am Sunday, heavy fire engulfed a home in the Doaks Creek Community, and the four occupants were alerted by a smoke alarm.
“A large majority of our fires where people are killed or injured did not have a working smoke detector. We have installed more than 300 smoke detectors in our fire district over the past few years,” said Chief Lawson.
An average of 1,450 fire deaths, two out of every three fire deaths, occur every year in homes with missing or non-functioning smoke alarms, according to the National Fire Protections Association.
Install Smoke Alarms In:
- Every bedroom
- Outside each sleeping area
- On every level of your home, including basement
- On levels without bedrooms: install in living room, den, or family room
- Install near stairways leading to upper levels
- Install smoke alarms 10 feet from cooking appliances to minimize false alarms
Interconnected smoke alarms provide additional safety and early warning. You’ll want to make sure to not install near windows, doors or ducts, and never paint smoke alarms.
Remember To:
- Test smoke alarms monthly
- Change smoke alarm batteries yearly
- Replace smoke alarms every 10 years
“Valley View Elementary School is in our district, and we conduct fire prevention every year to educate the students on fire safety and the need of smoke detectors. We ask the kids to go home and ask there parents if they have them, and, if not to call us and we will install them. The kids really listen. We have had parents call asking for us to come install them, and they will tell us that there child came home asking them,” said Chief Lawson.(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-01/20/2026-6AM)