The Atascadero City Fire Department received a boost to its stock of smoke detectors after a recent donation from Miner’s Ace Hardware.

The Atascadero hardware store gave firefighters several cases of smoke detectors worth about $1,000 to help supplement the department’s existing program that offers the devices for free to residents who can’t afford to buy or replace them.

The department is able to give out one smoke detector per household, as authorities say it’s critical to have at least one in each home.

The city’s program, about five years old, was founded after fire personnel found that many homes didn’t have smoke detectors or they had them but they weren’t working, officials said.

The majority of such households were occupied by elderly people, Fire Chief Kurt Stone said, “which is a big concern for the Fire Department.”

Firefighters carry the free smoke detectors on all the department’s fire engines and can install them after an emergency, or by appointment.

There are certain requirements to receive a free device, such as income level and being 62 years or older. But Capt. Bill White said individual exceptions are always made based on need.

For more information, call the fire department at 470-3344.