Firefighters To Receive Donations of Smoke + CO2 Detectors in Aftermath of Deadly Orrington Blaze

Sam's Club in Bangor will recognize the six fire departments that responded to a fatal fire in Orrington in November. Each department will receive smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to distribute in their respective communities. Folks are invited to stop by on Friday and show their support.

Crews from Orrington, Bucksport, Eddington, Holden, Bangor, and Brewer responded to a horrible house fire on the Dow Road in Orrington on November 10th that took the lives of 30-year-old Ben Johnson III and his three children. Fire marshals determined that cardboard pizza boxes stored too close to the woodstove caused that blaze. Neighbors reported that they never heard smoke detectors going off, although family members say that Ben had just installed one.

Representatives from all six departments will be at Sam's Club in Bangor on Friday at 10am to receive the detectors. Folks are invited to stop by and show their support...and bring the kids because they'll have a couple of trucks in the parking lot!

Sherrie Tourtillote of Orrington Search and Rescue says firefighters there plan to go door to door, making sure folks have smoke detectors and giving out the free detectors to folks who don't. They'll educate residents about the importance of detectors, the proper placement, and will even help install one, if need be.

As a member of the Orrington community, I want to say a personal thank you to these folks. Please know how special you all are for risking your lives to protect others. And thank you to Sam's club for recognizing these very special men and women!