Firefighters from across the state traveled to Des Moines Tuesday, to pickup hundreds of free smoke alarms. State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds purchased the alarms with money from a $245,000 federal grant and a $50,000 grant from State Farm Insurance.

Firefighters and other dignitaries receive and look-over the new fire detectors in Des Moines, Tues. (Radio Iowa photo)

Reynolds has a goal to install smoke alarms in every Iowa home with children. “We’re well on our way to doing that,” Reynolds said. “We have 36,000 smoke alarms installed to date in this two year old project and our goal is to have 50,000 smoke alarms installed by the end of the year.” The grants will eventually cover the cost of roughly 11,600 smoke alarms in 2013. And there’s plenty of demand for those alarms.

“There were 5,000 structure fires in Iowa last year and of those, one in five homes did not have working smoke alarms,” Reynolds said. Firefighters from 18 Iowa cities picked up a total of 3,000 smoke alarms today (Tuesday) as part of Reynolds’ project. Among the firefighters who came to pick up alarms, were those from Denison, Carroll, Breda and Harlan.

Denison Fire Chief Cory Snowgren says the new detectors will help continue his department’s efforts to keep citizens of the community safe. He says they’ve installed over 4,000 detectors in the community, but because there are still some requests to fill, they were happy to pickup more in Des Moines, on Tuesday. The Denison Fire Department received 200 new detectors.

Snowgren says they won’t have any problem finding homes to place them in. He says they have a list of families waiting to receive the potentially life-savings alarms. The Chief says in 2012, Denison had the distinction of having the first two lives saved in the State by fire alarms. The alarm awoke a family at 2-a.m. after a 3-prong device plugged into a space heater started on fire.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

Police in Council Bluffs say a Shelby County man faces three counts of Attempted Murder following an investigation into a shooting this (Tuesday) morning, in Council Bluffs.

30-year old Ronald Lee Farr, Jr.

Bluffs Police Sgt. Chad Meyers says 30-year old Ronald Lee Farr, Junior, was arrested on the attempted murder charges. He is also facing two-counts of Willful Injury causing Serious Injury and one-count of going armed with intent. Farr was arrested without incident at a residence in Harlan.

Authorities say Farr shot 22-year old Heather Wilson and her 19-month old son Tyson Underwood, both of Council Bluffs, outside of an apartment complex at 1544 McPherson Avenue, at around 5:40-a.m., Tuesday. The incident happened at Wilson was putting one of her children in a vehicle. Wilson was found on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Her son was hit in the arm by one of the bullets. Both are expected to make a full recovery. The other child was not hurt. A third child was still inside the apartment at the time of the incident.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest last Friday of 23-year old Heath C.M. Nordby, of Lewis.  Nordby was taken into custody on an OWI 2nd offense charge. He was brought to the Cass County Jail and released later that day on his own recognizance.