In the upcoming weeks, the North Haven Fire Department will be visiting every double and single family home in town to check and replace faulty smoke detectors, free of charge.

Fire Chief Vincent Landisio held a press conference on Aug. 9 to announce that the fire department had successfully applied for and received a $25,600 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund the smoke detector replacement drive.

“Our job is fire prevention,” Landisio said, “and this is the best method of fire prevention we know.”

Landisio said that an impetus to seek the grant was a recent rash of fatal Connecticut residential fires that occurred in part because of broken smoke detectors.

“We’re obligated to make sure that people are properly protected in their homes,” Landisio said.

Beginning around the end of September, the North Haven professional fire department and the three volunteer companies will begin knocking on residential doors, Landisio said. The firefighters will offer to test the house’s smoke detectors, and will take note of any broken devices. Any faulty detectors will be later replaced by the fire department at no expense to the home’s owner, according to the fire chief.

Landisio said that the firefighters will be identifiable by several means, including badges, photo IDs, their uniforms, or their fire department vehicles. The chief added that any residents unsure of whether unknown individuals on their property are firefighters should contact the department.

Landisio estimated that the fire department will visit 8,500 homes in town. For residents who are not home, the firefighters will hang a note with contact information on the front doorknob. The absent occupants can then contact the department to set up a time for a revisit.

Condominiums, apartments, and town buildings will not be included in the drive, Landisio said, as they are required by law to have working smoke detectors.

Based on national statistics, Landisio expects 20 percent of North Haven residences, or 1,600 homes, lack proper smoke detection. Accordingly, Landisio added that the fire department has put out to bid a contract to provide the town with the applicable amount of detectors.

“Our goal is to show this community that the North Haven Fire Department cares about their safety,” Landisio said.

The devices will be an extra-sensitive combination of photoelectric and ionization detectors, and, as part of the bid's specifications, will be delivered to the fire department within two weeks. However, the new detectors will not be able to be installed in residences until after Oct. 1, Landisio said, due to new state indemnification laws which would not protect the firefighters before the date.

The chief added that all initial home visitations will be performed before any smoke detectors are replaced.

The professional fire department and the volunteer companies will canvas areas around their geographical zone. The professional department will visit homes between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, Landisio said, although specific visitation times can be set up by contacting the department.

The volunteer companies will visit homes on their own time.

The press conference was held in the fire department’s front entrance lot, and was attended by over a dozen firefighters, the fire commission, and many town officials. After Landisio spoke, First Selectman Janet McCarty and Fire Commission Chairman Pat Nuzzolillo took to the podium.

McCarty praised the North Haven Fire Department for its “extraordinary effort” and continued success in safeguarding the town.

“All the firefighters in North Haven care deeply about this town,” she said. “I’m very proud of them.”

Nuzzolillo thanked the fire department, singling out its chief for his fundraising work.

“I want to thank Chief Landisio for initiating this project,” he said. “In five years, he has generated close to one million dollars in grants for the department, including a new radio system for the fire units, personal protective equipment, and the SAFER Act grant.”

“On behalf of the commission,” Nuzzolillo added, “I’d like to thank the chief and all of the fire service.”

Landisio said that the department’s leadership and the fire commission came up with the idea for a smoke detector drive about a year ago. They approached the Federal Emergency Management with the idea and impressed the organization enough to secure a grant.

“I know the program will be a success,” Landisio said.