The American Red Cross Northern Miami Valley Ohio chapter will install smoke detectors at a local mobile home park this weekend.

Disaster Program Specialist Marc Cantrell said the Red Cross will install free smoke detectors at Rolling Hills Mobile Home Park Saturday morning. The Red Cross will be assisted by volunteers from the Urbana Fire Division and Honda.

Saturday’s efforts follow a mobile home fire at Rolling Hills on Jan. 30 in which four people were injured. Urbana Fire Chief Mark Keller said the fire remains under investigation.

Cantrell said in addition to the work the Red Cross does on a daily basis helping fire clients, this is a proactive program involving installing smoke detectors and educating people.

“Smoke detectors help as far as getting people to understand that there’s something going on in their home, but we have to educate them so they know it’s not time to play, it’s time to get out and they have to have a practiced plan,” Cantrell said.

Keller said the Red Cross has a fire safety checklist to review with residents when they are installing smoke detectors. He added some of this information is provided to children by the Urbana Fire Division during fire prevention programs.

Cantrell noted the smoke detectors to be installed are 10-year photoelectric smoke detectors. He said residents need to know the component of the smoke detector which smells smoke times out.

“I tell people ‘if your smoke detector is five to six years old, it’s time to replace them.’ A max is 10 years,” Cantrell said. “That’s why now if you go to Lowe’s, Menards or whatever you’re going to find 10-year smoke detectors and after 10 years you throw them away and put a new one in.”

Last year, the Northern Miami Valley Red Cross installed 1,500 smoke detectors, according to Cantrell.