The Pflugerville Fire Department Wednesday launched a new online resource and non-emergency hotline for Pflugerville residents. The move is part of the fire department’s Fire Prevention Month of October and follows an outreach event that it coordinated Sept. 23. Pflugerville residents can now visit www.pflugervillefire.org/faqs for answers to questions regarding their smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. The portal offers answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) such as why your fire alarm keeps chirping, where to position the alarms in your house or how often you should change the batteries in your alarms. "We just launched a new website for our fire department that we’re continuing to develop. This FAQ page was one of the first features we got up and running because we knew it was critically important," said Pflugerville Fire Department Community Outreach Coordinator Allison Strupeck. For questions that cannot be answered on the website, the fire department has created the Pflugerville Fire Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm Hotline, which can be reached at 512-989-4516. The hotline is a non-emergency number and residents can expect to have their messages returned by the next business day, according to the department. On Sept. 23, the Pflugerville Fire Department visited at-risk homes to replace or install both smoke-only alarms and combination smoke-and-carbon monoxide alarms. The houses chosen for the weekend visit were based on several demographic factors such as income level and age of the home. According to the fire department, nearly 30 percent of the homes visited did not have any smoke alarms. Additionally, of those homes that did have alarms, only 37 percent worked when tested or were not expired. In addition to installing alarms, several volunteers were on hand to educate residents about the new alarms and offer fire safety tips. The Pflugerville Fire Department looks to engage with residents throughout Fire Prevention Month with plans to visit with senior groups and youth groups, as well as visits to the district’s elementary schools. The department will also hang banners and post signs throughout Pflugerville to increase the visibility of the campaign. “The goal and the vision is for everyone to be reminded of the importance of testing their smoke alarms and develop a home escape plan. We’re going to get out that message as much as we can,” Strupeck said.