Fire Marshal’s Office to Give Away Smoke Detectors at ‘Burgers, Dogs and Detectors’ Event

SAN ANGELO, TX — The San Angelo Fire Marshal’s Office is inviting the public to a fire safety event on Saturday, May 10, featuring free smoke detectors and grilled food.

The event, titled Burgers, Dogs and Detectors, will run from noon to 2 p.m. at the Carl Ray Johnson Recreation Center at 1103 Farr St. Attendees can meet the Fire Marshal’s Office, enjoy free burgers and hot dogs, and receive a free smoke detector while supplies last.

“We will be there having burgers, hot dogs. Sparky (The Fire Dog) will be there. And we’re also giving away smoke detectors,” said Deputy Fire Marshal Eric Martinson. “We’ll have a little over 100.”

He added that the office expects to give all 100 of them away. 

Martinson said the goal is to reduce the number of homes without functional detectors, especially in neighborhoods where fire calls have revealed either missing or nonworking alarms.

“So really, that’s their first offense for surviving a fire is hearing that smoke detector go off telling you to get out," he said. "So that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re just trying to prevent anybody from getting hurt and also getting out in the public and meeting some new friends.”

The smoke detectors are intended to help residents install alarms in every bedroom and in key areas separating living spaces and sleeping quarters.

In addition to promoting the safety event, Martinson also reminded local business owners that annual fire inspections are required in San Angelo under the International Fire Code.

“Right now, we just divided up the city of San Angelo into districts for each of our fire inspectors, one per district, and they are tasked with going out, meeting the businesses in their area, and talking to them about the annual fire inspection, hopefully either doing it on the spot or they can schedule one through them,” he said. 

Business owners can schedule inspections by calling the Fire Marshal’s Office directly at 325-657-4358.

“We just hope San Angelo is safe and we’re doing what we can to make it better,” Martinson said.