State recognizes CCFD firefighter for life saved
Apr. 12—Sometimes, even the most routine of chores, can have a lasting affect on the worker and the benefactor and those rare moments are worthy of recognition and accolades.
Such is the case of Cumberland County Fire Department's Shawn Aytes who also serves as captain of the Lake Tansi Village volunteer station.
Little did he know that when he installed a smoke detector in the home of a Sequoia Dr. home that it would literally save a life. It did.
Aytes has been a member of the small army of firefighters from Crossville Fire Department, Fairfield Glade Fire Department and the county fire department that annually travels their respective communities offering free smoke alarms and installation
The program usually takes place on a Saturday and is funded through the Tennessee Fire Marshal's Office. Hundreds of smoke detectors have been installed in the county since the program's inception.
"There have been 301 lives saved across the state of Tennessee since the program was started in 2012," Assistant Fire Chief John Hall said. "We have put up a lot of smoke detectors since that time ... Shawn has always participated when he could."
Recently, the state canvassed local departments to determine how many lives have been saved by the program.
Hall said a check of records revealed one of the 301 lives saved in Tennessee was in Cumberland County.
On Jan. 31, 2017, Aytes was among those installing fire alarms for citizens and he traveled to a mobile home in the 700 bock of Sequoia Dr. Like he has several times before, he knocked on the door, asked the resident if they wanted to participate in the program, and then installed the detector.
And, he forgot about it.
On April 15, 2020, Cumberland County firefighters were dispatched to a mobile home fire in the 700 block of Sequoia Dr. The resident was alerted to the danger when the smoke detector activated and he was able to get out of the burning home.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, they found the mobile home enveloped in flames. With flames leaping from the roof as a clue, further investigation believed the fire may have started in the area of a secondary roof that had been installed over the trailer.
The official fire report reads, "The tenant stated that he was alerted by one of the detectors activating and when he went into the living room to investigate, he saw smoke and flames and immediately exited the structure."
It was the same smoke detector Aytes had installed for free about three years earlier.
The structure was a total loss.
"This program actually does save lives," Hall said recently. "We cannot express enough the importance of smoke detectors in the home."
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has side-tracked the program in 2021, firefighters are now back to reinstalling the state funded smoke detectors.
Michael Moser may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
