Sound the Alarm – A Red Cross Initiative
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Photo credit: OCWR
The more I volunteer for the American Red Cross, the more I learn about everything this organization does for the community. Recently, I was recruited to work on installing smoke alarms in homes that either have inoperable alarms or don’t have them at all. Since I’m married to an electrical engineer, I recruited David’s help as well. Thus far, the two of us have installed about 75 smoke alarms in the greater Las Vegas area.
Image Credit: American Red Cross
The goal of this national program called ‘Sound the Alarm’ is to install smoke alarms in every home in southern Nevada as well as educate the public and recipients on fire safety. Home fires claim seven lives every day in the USA, but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half. In a house fire, you may have as little as 2-3 minutes to escape to safety. Working smoke alarms make good sense.
Our local Red Cross provides volunteers to promote the program in the community, coordinate the program, schedule, and do the actual installations in homes. The program is made possible through partnerships with our Las Vegas Fire & Rescue as well as Lowe’s, Southwest Gas, Starbucks, and several other organizations. The alarms we’re currently installing have 10-year batteries and also include a CO monitor.
Last week, David and I visited six homes. Most recipients were elderly, and several lived alone or with elderly spouses, at least one of whom had a disability. After a quick survey of which alarms need to be replaced (most existing alarms were out of date), David heads off with his tools and new smoke alarms and gets to work. He has the smoke alarm install routine down to a fine science.
Meanwhile, I go over a fire safety checklist with household residents (as many as I can round up), reviewing key points of fire safety within their home and developing a fire escape plan in case of a fire. We’ve also been adding a quick reminder about how to cope with Las Vegas’ Extreme Heat, how to recognize signs of heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, and advise staying cool and hydrating often.
Image credit: proform Safety.com
There are several reminder phrases that are used, like ‘Keep an eye on what you fry,’ especially for open-flame gas ranges, which are prevalent in our area. An estimated 49% of all home kitchen fires are attributed to ‘unattended cooking’. Cooking is also the second-leading cause of home fire deaths, accounting for ~18% of all home fire fatalities, according to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), a global non-profit “organization dedicated to reducing death, injury, property, and economic loss from fire, electrical, and related hazards.”
By the way, if someone in the home is deaf or hard of hearing, we have the option of ordering ADA-certified hearing-impaired alarms and even ‘bed shakers’, if required. All free of charge. Additionally, there are options under a different program for requesting other forms of aid for the elderly, like installation of grab bars in bathrooms, for instance.
We were initially a bit leery of entering strangers’ homes for the installs and my fire safety spiel. We are continually amazed at how welcomed we are and how some folks, especially the elderly, need some ‘chat time’. They’re attentive, thankful and can’t do enough for us. We’ve been offered water, lunch, sandwiches, coffee and more. Several people have even offered us ‘tips’ (and in one case, a toke!). We remind them we are volunteers and suggest they instead donate to the Red Cross.
The requirements for having a free home fire safety assessment, including a fire escape plan, and either changing batteries or installing free battery-operated smoke alarms in your home are simple. There’s no financial qualification, nor is there an age limit other than an adult 18 years or older must be present at the time of installation. Just click on this Red Cross Sound the Alarm link. Scroll down the page, enter your zip code to find your local Red Cross district, enter the requested information, and get on the install list. A Red Cross volunteer will contact you to schedule an in-home fire safety assessment and install new batteries or smoke alarms as needed. How easy is that?
If you’ve got some spare time on your hands, consider volunteering for the Red Cross. It’s a rewarding and worthwhile way to contribute to your community.