The National Fire Protection Association has begun training sessions for a project that will install 8,000 smoke alarms in First Nations households in Arizona this summer and fall. Funded by a Fire Prevention and Safety Grant from the Department of Homeland Security, the initiative will reach 2,000 households in the Navajo and Hopi nations who would otherwise be largely unprotected.

Installation of the smoke alarms will begin Sept. 15 and continue through March 2007. In addition to receiving the alarms, program participants will be educated on escape planning and fire prevention.

“Quite simply this effort will save lives, reduce injuries and lessen the incidence of property loss in Navajo and Hopi nations,” said Chief Larry Chee, Navajo Nation Fire and Rescue Services. “We know from experience that the training program, smoke alarm installation and educational materials provided will make people safer from fire in their homes.”