Picayune firefighter buys smoke detectors to make residents safer

PICAYUNE, Miss. (WLOX) – A South Mississippi firefighter is putting his money where his heart is.

In addition to battling blazes with a water hose, he’s also using his wallet.

Picayune Firefighter Glen Neal was motivated by the tragic news of a Slidell fire in which four people were killed because of a lack of a smoke detector. So, he went out and purchased 100 smoke detectors and delivered them to the city of Picayune on Feb. 1.

Now the city is installing those smoke detectors in the hopes of saving more lives here.

“If you don’t have them, if you have a fire in your house, by the time you realize it, the smoke is way down almost to your bed,” said Picayune Chief Pat Weaver. “When people raise up, they can’t find their way out. We’ve had several deaths here, they didn’t have smoke detectors and didn’t find their way out.”

After Neal heard of the Slidell fire, he went right into action.

“The next day, I got up and gave a call to the mayor and said I got something I want to talk about,” he said. “And we created a little program to install smoke detectors. So, we went out and purchased the smoke detectors and brought them to the city and donated them to the city.”

He said it was a good investment.

“When you get early detection, it gives us the best opportunity to save lives, valuables, property,” he said.

Now, Neal wants others to follow suit.

“If you have an extra $20, I recommend you pick it up, drop it off at your local fire station, and donate it to them,” he said. “Maybe that $20 donation may save a life.”

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