ST. LOUIS — First responders returned to the St. Louis complex where a fire killed three children this month. This time, not to put out a fire, but to prevent another tragedy.
"I thought that was terrible. I hate to see that," said Pearletha Word, who lives in the Clinton- Peabody complex.
If the memorial in front of her apartments is a sign of anything, It's that the grief left behind by the deaths of Dream, Heaven and Damarian is still very present.
"It doesn't just impact the family, it's very tragic for that mother and everybody associated with her but its also very impactful to us as first responders," St. Louis Fire Captain Leon Whitener said.
The three — a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old and a 6-month-old — died following a house fire on S. 14th street last Sunday.
"Were conditioned and trained to make a difference when we respond but unfortunately, on this particular day, our response didn't make a difference," Whitener said.
At the time, the St. Louis Fire Department would not say if the home had a working smoke detector or not.
But on Tuesday, they went door to door checking more than 300 apartments to make sure they did.
"So this is actually therapeutic for us as well," Whitener said. "It's therapeutic for the men and the women here at the St. Louis Housing Authority and maintenance team as well because we feel like we're going to do something that's going to make a difference."
5 On Your Side followed behind and noticed while most of the units had a working smoke detector, some didn't.
Word said it's a task usually done by the city's housing authority.
"Yeah when the battery gets weak and it starts beeping, I always call housing and they put a battery in it for me," she said.
Tuesday, these firefighters say they would rather be safe than sorry.
"Most of these units do have smoking alarms that are working properly but we want to ensure that everybody here is protected," Whitener said.
To request a smoke detector, St. Louis City residents can call the STLFD Smoke Detector Hotline at 314-533-3406.
