Working smoke detectors save lives: After fatal fire near 44th & Juneau, alarms installed in neighborhood

MILWAUKEE -- Officials with the Milwaukee Fire Department are trying to save lives, one home at a time. Firefighters went door-to-door on Tuesday, October 20th in the neighborhood near 44th and Juneau checking for working smoke detectors and offering fire safety education.

This is part of Project FOCUS (Firefighters Out Creating Urban Safety) where the Milwaukee Fire Department installs free smoke detectors for those in need.

The effort came just days after a deadly fire in the neighborhood.

The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Matthew Stachelski, who was the lone occupant of the home near 44th and Juneau that caught fire on Saturday night, October 17th.

Police say it appears that the fire started in the kitchen area of the home.  At this time, there does not appear to be foul play involved.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

In an effort to prevent future fire fatalities, firefighters, armed with crates full of smoke detectors, went door-to-door on Tuesday -- stopping at every home on the block in the neighborhood.

"All these guys have been to house fires where someone was injured, or someone didn't live through the fire and a simple working smoke detector could have meant the difference between life and death," Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Mark Rohlfing said.

Lasangna Ferguson had two smoke detectors installed in her home on Tuesday -- one upstairs, and one downstairs.

"Having this big house, I need them all over," Ferguson said.

If you are in need of a smoke detector, please call the Smoke Detector Hotline to have one installed for free by the Milwaukee Fire Department.

"We don't take fire prevention as serious as we should. Everybody who sees this should push those buttons on their smoke detectors to make sure they are working," Chief Rohlfing said.