BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — Wednesday night, Baltimore County firefighters went door to door in neighborhoods in Parkville and Randallstown to make sure residents have everything they need to prevent a house fire.
WATCH: Baltimore County Fire Department holds fire safety walk
Fire Chief Joseph Dixon explained the importance.
"We want to get out in our community and make sure they understand the importance of being safe, having smoke detectors in your home. So we pass out literature. We also want to be seen as well because it is part of who we are. We care about our community, and we want to make sure we're here for them, and they know that," Dixon said.
The fire walk follows two fatal fires in Parkville that resulted in the deaths of a 4-year-old child and a 76-year-old woman.
That tragic statistic already almost reaches the total of 4 fatal fires the county had in 2025.
"Starting off the new year with two is impactful. It's impactful on me as a fire chief; I take it very seriously, the members of my team take it very seriously," Dixon told us.
The department offered fire safety resources, free home safety inspections, and smoke alarms to residents like Trisha Faukner.
"To see them actually make a presence and wanting to assure the community that they're out here to help is a good thing to have," Faukner said.
She told WMAR-2 News that the visit came at a perfect time, as she's been having trouble with her smoke detector.
"They're hardwired up so they literally for the last year have just been randomly - 2 am, 3 am we're not cooking just literally sound asleep, and they're going off randomly, and we've systematically had to unplug certain ones."
She said one of the firefighters told her he'll pass her information along to help get the problem fixed.
Chief Dixon told us this is just the beginning of the work his department will do this year to keep communities safe.
