Remembering Monett woman who died in fire by installing smoke alarms

MONETT, Mo. – Smoke alarms are being handed out and installed in Monett this weekend to remember a woman who died in a house fire.

The Monett Rural Fire District is partnering with the Red Cross to get smoke detectors in homes.

For the entire month of June, every Saturday the Red Cross and MRFD handed out smoke alarms. So far, they have installed 150 alarms, all to honor Sandy Briant.

“She was just a wonderful soul,” said close friend of Briant, Jenny Solomon. “She was a great person and she is very much missed by her family and her friends.”

Briant died in a house fire in September 2021. Solomon says she thinks Briant disabled her smoke alarms.

“A few months down the road, she had a fire with a dryer,” Solomon said. “She was sleeping when the dryer was running. The house caught fire and the Monett Fire Department tried to rescue her, but was unable to get her out of the house in time.”

Now Solomon, who also works for the Red Cross, has teamed up with the MRFD to hand out and install smoke alarms to the community.

“We’re doing it just to honor her and to let her know that we miss her,” Solomon said. “And we really felt like this was something we could do as a healing for ourselves as well.”

Chief Brandon Pennington says he’s happily surprised with how many alarms have been installed already.

“People don’t think it’s going to happen to them until it’s really done and over with,” Pennington said.

He says he is looking forward to Saturday.

“The 29th will be the last time we will be helping with American Red Cross handing out smoke detectors,” Pennington said. “But we’re always available when people call us to install these detectors when need be.”

Smoke detectors are good for 10 years from the manufacturing date before they need to be replaced or have their batteries changed.

“A majority of those smoke alarms that we find that are not working, it’s because people are taking the batteries out. You’ll find them during house fires,” Pennington said.

Smoke alarms will be handed out in the Monett Walmart parking lot Saturday, June 29, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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