Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - Safety reminder - VPSD will change batteries in smoke detectors for free!!!
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Old 07-30-2024, 04:55 AM
jimdecastro jimdecastro is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainger99 View Post
Just in case some new residents don't know about the program, The Villages Public Safety Department offers smoke detector assistance to residents of The Villages. They will come to your house and they will change the batteries in their smoke detectors.
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There is no charge for this service. But you have to provide brand new nine-volt batteries or detectors required before calling for assistance.

Appointments are for same-day service and are on a first come first serve basis.
The Villages Public Safety Department employees will arrive at your home in uniform, with a visible name badge. They will also have a ladder with them.

As we get older, we should avoid ladders as much as possible!

Public Safety Smoke Detector Program
I would like to add a few pieces of information; a friend of mine is one of the people who will do the replacement.
The 9 V batteries should be unopened.
Thank you for mentioning it has to be the day you call but you need to call between 8:00 and 8:30 AM. The appointment is all day like the cable guy, but they will be there usually in the morning.
I agree it should be done once a year even if that's "overkill". We were told up north to do this when you change the clocks (since our house in New York was not hardwired we did it twice a year). But here I would urge you not to do it at that time. Because it's habit for us they are in inundated with requests then. Pick a day meaningful to you (like your child's birthday) and call around that day.
Look thoroughly for all of the smoke detectors. In my first house I thought they were six but they were seven so he left the easily reachable one for me to change later (although he would've come back). Interestingly enough, my second house has the identical floorplan, but only has six.
One last thing. If you are in the first year of your house, I would not wait more than a few months after closing before you call and change the batteries. New homes are supplied with bulk batteries that rarely last the full year.
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Jim DeCastro

Garden City, Long Island, NY
West Islip, Long Island, NY
Village of Citrus Grove (2021)
Village of Newell (2023)