MFRD Presented with Get Alarmed, Alabama! Award

The State of Alabama Fire College and Alabama Fire Marshal's Office recently presented the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department (MFRD) with the 2024 and 2025 Get Alarmed, Alabama! awards for the most residential smoke alarms installed in a single calendar year. MFRD has now received the award four consecutive years. The Get Alarmed, Alabama! smoke alarm installation program is a partnership between InTouch LLC, the Fire College, and the Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office.

The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department implemented its smoke alarm program in 2017, installing and distributing smoke alarms to local homes, while proactively educating citizens on fire and life safety. Since its inception, MFRD has installed and distributed more than 15,000 smoke alarms in approximately 5,021 homes across Mobile. The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department led all, participating State of Alabama fire departments with approximately 2,732 fully-functioning, smoke alarms installed (2024 = 1,478; 2025 = 1,254), ensuring layers of fire protection in City of Mobile residences.

Studies conducted by the National Fire Protection Association reveal that Alabama residents are twice as likely as the national average to suffer life-threatening tragedy as a result of fires in their homes. Having working, smoke alarms and a fire safety plan, however, have proven to save lives, allowing for early, fire detection and alerting. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), almost three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms (41%) or no working smoke alarms (16%).

Fire research has demonstrated that with modern home furnishings, fires can spread much more rapidly than in the past when more natural materials were used. Because of this, having a sufficient number of properly-located smoke alarms is essential to maximize the amount of available escape time. Fire departments in Alabama participate in the Get Alarmed, Alabama! smoke alarm initiative to make sure homes in the state are properly outfitted. 

The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department remains dedicated to proactively preventing fire-related injuries and loss of property and life through community outreach programs, pre-incident business surveys, public education, local and state partnerships, fire & life safety demonstrations, and more. Through its Community Risk Reduction Division, MFRD has held dozens of smoke alarm blitz campaigns throughout the City of Mobile, canvassing neighborhoods and distributing and installing smoke detectors where needed. 

The next blitz is scheduled for March 10, 2026. For more information or to request installations of smoke alarms, visit www.mobilefirerescue.com or call (251) 208-5555. Installations are available for City of Mobile residential homes only.