Camden city officials are taking initiative to raise fire prevention awareness after two devastating fires in Philadelphia and the Bronx.

The mayor, fire department, other elected officials, the school district and the Red Cross are reiterating fire safety and the resources available to city residents.

Just over the Delaware River from Camden, a fire claimed 12 lives in Philadelphia back on Jan. 5. A few days later there was an apartment fire in the Bronx that killed 17 people.

"We are here today because we all collectively felt the impact of those fires," said one official.

The fire department in Camden offers free smoke detectors to residents, and they will also come out to homes to install them.

"We've gone in some of these row homes to fight fires, and one thing that we do find is that some of them don't have smoke detectors or the batteries are taken out,” said Deputy Fire Chief Jesse Flax. “Fill out the form and we'll come to your house and install a smoke detector in the levels that have to be addressed."

The city is also encouraging those who rent-- whether it be in a high-rise or a rowhome -- to report any landlords who fail to install smoke alarms. These devices will save lives, they say.

"Many times, our community - they don't have the information that's needed for where to go, who to talk to and what to do,” said Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen.

"When we arrive on scene, we're an aggressive fire department,” added Flax. “We want to go in and save a life. If we know you have working smoke detectors that have alerted you to get out of the building that can provide us the information necessary to know that you got everybody out of the building, and we can safely aggressively attack the fire."

The Camden City School District says it'll also be teaching fire prevention in school to children and encouraging all families to create a plan should something happen.