Amazon warehouse PDX9 partners with fire district posted on 01/01/2023
Wintertime marks a season of giving, but also a season of
increased risk for house fires, with the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) reporting that home fires occur more in the winter than in any other
season.
In the spirit of giving, Amazon warehouse PDX9 in Troutdale
partnered with Hoodland Fire District’s (HFD) Community Emergency Response Team
(CERT) to promote community safety in the winter months by donating one hundred
smoke alarms, including batteries, to citizens in the Mount Hood region in
December.
“I want to stress, without a smoke detector you’re more
likely to be injured or killed in a home fire,” HFD Fire Chief Jim Price said.
An NFPA report states, “Almost three out of five home fire
deaths were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms (41 percent) or
smoke alarms that failed to operate (16 percent).”
PDX9 delivered the smoke alarms to HFD’s main station on
Dec. 15. While there, the team from Amazon received a tour of the district’s
facilities.
Chief Price noted that the team from PDX9 made it clear they
would like to maintain the partnership and help the district with other areas
of need for the community.
“It’s a local group. It’s Amazon, but this donation is
really the Troutdale warehouse wanting to get involved in the community,” Chief
Price said.
The donation occurred after a member of the district’s CERT
team, Felecia Forston, contacted Jodi Knapp at the Amazon Warehouse (PDX9) in
Troutdale about needs for the fire district and community. Knapp was a driving
force behind the donation, connecting PDX9’s Senior Operations Manager Gary
Heath with HFD’s CERT team.
Chief Price added that the team from Amazon PDX9 have
donated over 2,068 hours of volunteer work in the region helping with projects
to make the local communities better.
“The district will be working with our CERT team to help get
these detectors out in the community, making the mountain a safer place for
all,” Chief Price said. He stated that the district can inspect and install the
smoke detectors for community members in need of assistance.
Chief Price urged community members to make sure they have
an adequate number of smoke detectors in their homes and inspect them to make
sure they operate properly.
“Smoke detectors save lives; it’s their primary purpose.
Also, a smoke detector will sense a fire before a person can smell or see a
fire, allow for an early response from firefighters and limit the extent of
fire damage,” Chief Price said.
Community members can contact HFD for information on how to
acquire the donated smoke detectors from the CERT team.
HFD can be contacted by phone at 503-622-3256, or by email
at hoodland@hoodlandfire.org. Amazon’s PDX9 warehouse can be reached by phone
at 888-892-7180.
By Ben Simpson/MT | 
