Milwaukee firefighters go door-to-door checking homes, installing smoke alarms for those in need

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee firefighters went door-to-door in a near north side neighborhood Tuesday, Dec. 7, checking homes for smoke alarms and installing them for people who need them.

Last Saturday, an 81-year-old man died in a house fire even though there were working smoke alarms in the building.

Fire Chief Aaron Lipski says it's not enough just to have an alarm. He says often, people wait too long to call the fire department after an alarm goes off.

"We cannot continue to have people ignore smoke alarms and allow fires to grow for, you know, unimaginably long period of time and then expect that your fire department can come out of thin air and reverse time. You hear a smoke alarm, please respond," Chief Lipski said. 

If you need a smoke alarm, there's a hotline number you can call: 414-286-8980. 

The fire department will deliver a smoke alarm for free, and they'll even install it if you need help.