News release from the American Red Cross:
Red Cross to Visit Southeast Fort Wayne To Install Smoke Alarms, Teach People Fire Safety
Nationwide campaign aims to reduce the number of home fire deaths, injuries
(April 3, 2015) – The American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana will be visiting Fort Wayne neighborhoods in the 46806 zip code as part of its Home Fire Preparedness Campaign to teach people how to be prepared for home fires and install smoke alarms where needed.
Seven times a day someone in this country dies in a home fire. Countless others suffer injuries. To combat these tragic statistics, the Red Cross has launched a nationwide campaign to reduce the number of deaths and injuries due to home fires by 25 percent over the next five years.
The Home Fire Preparedness Campaign is happening all over the country and involves Red Cross workers joining with local fire departments and community groups to visit neighborhoods at high risk for fires. Those visits include educating people about fire safety through door-to-door visits and installation of smoke alarms in some of these neighborhoods.
The Red Cross will be going through southeast Fort Wayne on Saturday, April 11, 2015 starting at 10 a.m. (until 2 p.m.) to install smoke alarms in homes that need them and teach people about what to do now in case a fire breaks out in their home. Joining the Red Cross will be members of the Fort Wayne Fire Department, volunteers from Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) and AmeriCorps members.
“Installing smoke alarms cuts the risk of someone dying from a home fire in half, so we’re joining with groups from across our community to install smoke alarms,” said Katherine Mac Aulay, Executive Director, American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana. “We also will be teaching people how to be safe from home fire.”
Simple Steps to Save Lives
The Red Cross is asking everyone to take two simple steps that can save lives: check their existing smoke alarms and practice fire drills at home,
There are several things families and individuals can do to increase their chances of surviving a fire:
- If someone doesn’t have smoke alarms, install them. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Local building codes vary and there may be additional requirements where someone lives.
- If someone does have alarms, test them today. If they don’t work, replace them.
- Make sure that everyone in the family knows how to get out of every room and how to get out of the home in less than two minutes.
- Practice that plan. What’s the household’s escape time?
The Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters each year in the United States and the vast majority of those are home fires. Serving eight counties in Northeast Indiana, the Red Cross assisted 230 area families in following disasters last year. You can help people affected by disasters like home fires and countless other crises by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
About the American Red Cross
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
Related Images:
