By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The Hays Fire Department has smoke detectors available at no cost for qualified Hays residents.

To qualify, said firefighter Lucas Everett, you “must live within the Hays city limits, own the home in which the alarm will be installed and either have no detector present or no working detectors present.”

Call the Hays Fire Department at (785) 628-7330 to make an appointment for a firefighter to install the detector.

“While we’re in your home, we’ll explain the function and purpose of the smoke detector and answer any fire safety questions you may have,” said Everett.

“If you do have working smoke detectors present in your home, the Hays Fire Department will also check and change the batteries, if you can’t do it yourself or if you don’t know how to do that.”

Everett also reminded everyone to change batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The Hays Fire Department recommends doing this twice a year in connection with Daylight Saving Time.

The smoke detectors being given away were donated by the Office of the State Fire Marshal through the program “Saving Lives of Kansans, One Home at a Time.”