The American Red Cross is announcing the Home Fire Campaign is being credited with saving hundreds of lives.
Recently as part of the effort, volunteers and community partners installed the one-millionth free smoke alarm. Officials note the effort is responsible for saving 285 lives.
The program focuses on installing fire alarms in an effort to reduce home fire tragedies in at-risk communities.
“Since 2014, Red Cross volunteers across the country have been working with local fire departments and community partners to reduce home fire tragedies in at-risk communities,” said Tim O’Toole, Regional Disaster Officer. “We are proud to know that the campaign was modeled after Operation Save-A-Life, which began in 1992 as a partnership with the Cleveland Fire Department.”
With the support of 4,400 partner organizations, Red Cross officials note they have helped to make more than one million people safer through home visits to install free smoke alarms, assist families with developing fire escape plans and provide home fire safety education.
Since 2014, the Campaign has also reached nearly 895,000 kids through youth preparedness programs, helped to create more than 340,000 home fire escape plans, and replaced more than 51,000 smoke alarm batteries.
Also, this spring, the Red Cross will Sound the Alarm through a nationwide series of home fire safety and smoke alarm installation events from April 28 to May 13, 2018. Working with volunteers and partner organizations, the Red Cross plans to install 100,000 free smoke alarms across more than 100 major cities. Volunteers and financial contributions are needed
This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from national partners: Almost Family, Delta Air Lines, and International Paper. The Red Cross has also received funding from FEMA through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.
Join this Red Cross effort today by volunteering to install smoke alarms in your community, making a financial contribution, or taking steps to protect your own family from home fires. Together, we can Sound the Alarm about fire safety and help save lives. Visit SoundTheAlarm.org for more information.
Michaela Madison Reporting
