Saturday April, 18 2026

Nature: Community Outreach Effort with Risk Reduction Campaign

Location: Pot Nets Creekside and School Lane Communities

On Saturday, April 18^th, the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company conducted a proactive community risk reduction initiative by canvassing neighborhoods that have suffered unfortunate residential fires to distribute free smoke detectors. The Fire Prevention Cohort focused on distributing safety devices and educating residents to reduce fire risks and unnecessary, high-impact incident concerns. 

Key details regarding their initiatives include:

• Smoke Detector Distribution: The fire prevention cohort conducted door-to-door, targeted campaigns to install free smoke detectors in the Pot Nets Creekside and School Lane areas.

• Community Risk Reduction:  The company has a multi-faceted approach regarding community outreach and risk reduction which highlights:

  • (1) reducing high rates of automatic fire alarm activations (40% of 2024/2025 emergency incident responses) by partnering with residents on system maintenance and ensuring firefighter safety.

  • (2) ensuring community residents have working smoke detectors in their residential structures.

• Outreach & Education: Activities include fire prevention outreach, offering publications during community events, and utilizing "Patches" the fire prevention dog for children's fire safety education, free smoke detector installation and distribution, and community engagement campaigns.

• Operation Area: The company serves the communities of Oak Orchard-Riverdale and Long Neck in Sussex County, Delaware.

This community campaign initiative focused on specific areas in the Long Neck and reached 50 residential locations and distributed information and 8 smoke detectors during this event.  Indian River was assisted with members of the Pot Nets Public Safety Team which has become an integral partner with these public awareness initiatives.

The Indian River Volunteer Fire Company would like to acknowledge the dedicated fire company personnel for unwavering support to enhancement our community and fire district.

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