🚀 go-pugleaf

gringogirl wrote:
> I wonder if American Citzens can get free smoke detectors from the
> chicago fire department?
>  remember this "tradegy " happened to an illegal  mexican  who was in
> the United States for 16 years and found time to give birth to 9 anchor
> babies-
>  she had plenty of time to buy a smoke detector
> 
> 
> Mindful of tragedy, consulate offers smoke alarms
> 
> By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons
> Tribune staff reporter
> Published October 11, 2006
> 
> 
> While applying for an identification card Tuesday at the Mexican
> Consulate in Chicago, Marta Mendoza received a free smoke detector from
> 
> a firefighter.
> 
> 
> She said she was relieved to have one after six children of Mexican
> immigrants died in a Rogers Park fire a month ago.
> 
> 
> "It is my first one," Mendoza, a Mexican immigrant with two young
> children, said in Spanish as she held the smoke detector. "I've been
> scared. I don't want the same thing to happen to my family."
> 
> 
> The Chicago Fire Department began a program Tuesday to distribute fire
> detectors at the consulate, 204 S. Ashland Ave., to educate the city's
> largest immigrant population about fire safety.
> 
> 
> "We don't want another tragedy," said Consul General Carlos Manuel
> Sada, referring to the Rogers Park fire as he passed out more than 70
> boxes. "These are necessary."
> 
> 
> It is important to make sure every household has a smoke detector
> because there have already been 29 deaths in Chicago this year in homes
> 
> without one, said Eve Rodriguez, a Fire Department spokeswoman.
> 
> 
> The department, which already provides free fire detectors at 100 fire
> stations and 50 ward offices, added the Mexican Consulate to the list
> of locations after receiving a request from the staff. The program is
> funded by private donations to the department. Fire detectors come with
> 
> batteries and instructions in Spanish.
> 
> 
> Six children died Sept. 3 in a fire caused by a candle in a home that
> had been without power for months because the family could not pay the
> bill. Chicago fire officials have said they found no smoke detectors in
> 
> the unit.
> 
> 
> The Mexican Consulate in Chicago flew the children's paternal
> grandparents from Mexico to attend services and provided them with a
> humanitarian visa, consulate officials said
> 
> 
> Fire detectors will be available at the reception desk at the Mexican
> Consulate, and the Fire Department will begin holding weekly classes to
> 
> teach people how to use them this month, officials said.
> 
> 
> The service is a part of the consulate's attempt to reach out to the
> more than 1.5 million Mexican immigrants in Illinois beyond just
> issuing documents and filing paperwork, said Ambar Gilmore, a
> spokeswoman for the consul general. According to the 2000 U.S. census,
> there are 582,028 Mexican immigrants living in Chicago.
> 
> 
> The consulate offers free legal advice and a class on opening a bank
> account, along with providing flu vaccines and testing for sexually
> transmitted diseases, Gilmore said.
> 
> 
> "It's an office, but we help them out with every problem they
> encounter," Gilmore said. "We want to educate our people and give them
> a home away from home."
> 
> 
> Maria Gomez, a Mexican immigrant who lives in the Irving Park
> neighborhood, said she plans to tell family members to go to the
> consulate to get a smoke detector of their own. Many Mexican immigrants
> 
> do not know they need one because fire detectors are less common across
> 
> the border, she said.
> 
> 
> "Sometimes, you have so many things going on. But these [smoke
> detectors] are good at grabbing your attention," she said. "I'm going
> to tell my children this sound means danger."

I learn something every day! I had no idea that a smoke detector could 
serve as a US visa. Who would have figured!


> 

-- 
*******************
  Michael R. McAfee
      Mesa, AZ
*******************