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Got a working smoke alarm? In Hanson, it meant free pizza on Tuesday

HANSON, Mass. — Unexpecting Domino's customers got more than they ordered on Tuesday night.

As a way to kick off fire prevention week, the Hanson Fire Department teamed up with Domino's for an interesting Tuesday Night Special.

The special? Free pizza if the customer allowed firefighters into their homes to check their smoke detectors - but only if they work.

"They’re gonna be shocked, I’m sure, a little bit," said Rob Benson, owner of the Hanson Domino's.

In case the smoke detectors didn't work, the customer would still have to foot the dinner bill, but the fire department would install new batteries for free or replace them for working ones.

"If their smoke detectors didn’t work, then we would replace them for them and got them detectors that worked," said Hanson Fire Lieutenant Charley Barends.

Customers like Peter Barnett were confused upon seeing the fire department roll in with their pizza delivery.

"I was wondering what I did or what was happening," said Barnett.

For the Hanson Fire Department, this was an opportunity to interact with the community outside of an emergency situation, while also potentially preventing one.

"It’s very important to have smoke detectors that are in working order," said Lt. Charley Barends.

The National Fire Protection Association statistics show the number of fires in 2018 was half of the numbers in 1980, but the death rate per 1,000 fires has remained the same.

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