JERSEY CITY – The Jersey City Fire Department battled 101 serious fires in 2017, but over the next two years it hopes to significantly slash the number of calls for service it receives.

A new fire prevention program rolled out this year will provide residents who own one- and two-family homes with free smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and power strips.

The program, dubbed 2020 Fire Vision, is designed to allow fire officials to perform a free home inspection on buildings over which they would not normally have jurisdiction. The investigators are normally responsible to check codes of bigger homes, but city officials say this program would help ensure homes are safe.

Employees at the fire department are beginning to canvas neighborhoods, placing door tags on homes that qualify for the inspection. Homeowners can fill out the tag, send it back to the city, and an appointment will be scheduled for an inspection. During the inspection, fire officials will install the preventative equipment, which is valued at about $100.

The fire prevention department is funding the program.

"It's a great investment because I can't get over the fact these homes will be protected," fire official Dennis Nuber said.

Statistics from the city's fire department estimated that more than $6.6 million in property was damaged in fires during 2017, an average of about $85,000 per incident. Of those serious fires, 30 percent occurred in one- and two-family homes occupied by the owner.

Residents in the Heights will be the first to see the new program based on the number of qualified homes in that section of the city, followed by the southern half of the city.

The department will not be issuing tickets for violations found during the inspections.

Fire Chief Steve McGill said members of the department will also be trained to proactively inspect buildings while they drive through their assigned neighborhoods.

This year got off to a busy start for the Jersey City Fire Department with several multiple-alarm fires breaking out between the end of January and early weeks of February. McGill said those fires highlight the need for the prevention program.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.