Lonna Nicolle knows all too well the importance of a working smoke detector. She believes it was one of multiple factors that led to the deaths of two of her children in 2006.

Nicolle had been hospitalized with pancreatitis, and her ex-husband had taken 4-year-old Matthew and 3-year-old Andrew to his girlfriend’s house to stay. While there, a fire broke out, she said. Because of the house’s layout and a lack of working alarms, it wasn’t until a neighbor came banging on the door that they realized the home was burning.

“There was a smoke detector in every room, but there wasn’t a battery in any of them,” she said.

Nicolle said she will never know how the fire started, but she does know Matthew and Andrew ran upstairs.

“I never taught them not to run upstairs because I didn’t live in a two-story house,” she said.

Nicolle said they ran into a room to hide. Their father tried to rescue them but was unsuccessful, and Matthew and Andrew died inside of smoke inhalation, she said. She believes even knowing to shut the door to the room they had run to hide in could have been enough to save them.

Now, with the help of Lowe’s in Athens and co-worker Diane Adams, Nicolle intends to make sure other families are able to learn the lessons that might have saved hers at the Lowe’s Kids Safety Event, set for 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday.

Meeting Diane

Adams said she met Nicolle through their jobs about two years ago. Adams is a front end associate at Lowe’s, while Nicolle works as a paint associate. During a conversation one day, they realized they had each experienced the traumatic effects of a fire when their boys were young.

“We always said we had two different sides of a story,” Adams said.

In Adams’ version, she lost all of her belongings but her boys made it out of the fire because her smoke detectors worked and alerted her. She and Nicolle agreed on the importance of working smoke detectors and discussed how to raise awareness together.

Nicolle said Lowe’s already hosted a free safety event, but it was relatively small. When the employee in charge was unable to continuing running it, Nicolle said she and Adams were given the opportunity to manage the event last year.

“We made hot dogs,” she said. “I think Chick-fil-A donated some sandwiches. … It was really good. It was just nothing compared to what this year is going to be.”

‘Epic’

Nicolle used a lot of complimentary words when discussing her employer and co-worker — “amazing,” “family” and “incredible,” to name a few. But when describing the safety event planned for this weekend, only one word came to mind.

“The only word I can think of is ‘epic,'” she said. “We know there’s not a Lowe’s in the country that could touch on our event.”

The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office will be landing a helicopter for kids to explore, she said. Brad Travis and WAFF-48 will teach children how to stay safe during tornadoes. Multiple restaurants will be donating food, including Chick-fil-A, Jack’s, Hardee’s and Greenbrier BBQ.

“We have the virtual reality trailer from Madison Fire Department,” Nicolle said. “Kids find a pack of matches and they act out what’s going to happen. We also have a smoke trailer to show what to do then.”

She said they’ll also have fire safety plans to hand out and discuss, child fingerprinting kits, carnival-style games to play and face-painting.

“They get to explore all of it,” Nicolle said. “Everywhere you turn, there’s going to be something educational for these kids.”

Live performances, prizes

The event will be four hours long, but Nicolle and Adams have four hours of live entertainment and great prizes to enjoy right alongside the learning. This year’s event is set to include performances from Mercedes Gilliland, the Athens High School Band, Darwin McCluskey, BitterCreek, Exit 361, Jeremy Ezell and Radio Silence.

Nicolle praised Adams for her hard work in pulling the event together.

“If it wasn’t for Diane, this would never happen,” she said. “… Diane is incredible, with the people she’s gotten involved and the prizes she’s gotten.”

Nicolle said they still have people calling for a way to participate.

Among the prizes donated are Alabama football tickets, gift cards and even a vacation for up to 10 people in Destin, Florida. Almost 40 contributors are mentioned on the flyer for the event, such as Duck Dynasty, Dollywood, Huntsville Escape Rooms and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.

“All of our prizes last year were like a $25 gift card here, a gift card there,” Nicolle said. “This year, we’re talking hundreds and hundreds of dollars in prizes.”

But for the women and Lowe’s, it’s not about prizes.

“It’s about getting information out,” Nicolle said.

“Even though we want this event to be fun, we want it to be informative as well,” Adams said.

‘There’s heart’

Nicolle said a lot of customers at Lowe’s have donated smoke detectors and batteries for the event to be handed out to families who may not otherwise be able to afford the potentially life-saving equipment.

“Too many kids are losing their lives because of something so simple that can save a life,” Adams said. “If we can prevent just one more life from being lost due to not having a smoke detector or forgetting about a battery, then Matthew’s and Andrew’s deaths weren’t in vain.”

“There’s heart behind it,” Nicolle said. “To us, to Lowe’s, it’s just about those two little boys.”

“Anything we can do to raise awareness of the importance of having properly working smoke detectors,” Adams said. “Those things are not just to hang on a wall to look at and be wall decor. Get batteries. Check it regularly. Don’t wait until it’s too late.”

Saturday’s free event will be at Lowe’s, 1109 U.S. 72 East, Athens. For more information on the event, the store can be reached at 256-771-5600.