CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – American Red Cross and Clarksville Fire Rescue volunteers will visit homes to help install free smoke alarms during a national effort against home fires.
The local home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event, known as Sound the Alarm, will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 27 at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, 303 Market St. The event is part of a two-week Sound the Alarm push in 100 cities across the United States.
Home fires kill more people in a typical year in the U.S than all other natural disasters combined, and most fire deaths occur in homes without working smoke alarms.
“Each day, Red Cross volunteers care for neighbors devastated by home fires, and we want to prevent these needless tragedies,” said Katy Hagstrom, Executive Director of the Tennessee River Chapter of the American Red Cross. “You can help #EndHomeFires by volunteering and raising donations for lifesaving services.”
Capt. Jobe Moore, Clarksville Fire Rescue Inspector/Investigator, is coordinating teams from the department’s stations to join in the Sound the Alarm event.
“As firefighters we know the importance of early detection during a fire,” Moore said. “In the past four years, Clarksville has had seven fire fatalities. All the victims’ homes had no working alarms. Homeowners think that a fire will never happen, or that if it does occur, they will have plenty of time to evacuate. We know that is not the case.”
Services are free: During the Sound the Alarm event, Red Cross volunteers and firefighters from Clarksville Fire Rescue will go door-to-door to install free smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms and help families create home fire escape plans. Services are free and available to all people in need. Visit www.SoundTheAlarm.org for more details.
Local volunteers are needed: People interested in helping can register now at www.SoundTheAlarm.org to volunteer and raise resources for lifesaving services.
Sound the Alarm events are part of the Home Fire Campaign, which the Red Cross launched in 2014 to reduce fire deaths and injuries. So far, it has reached more than 1.7 million people and saved more than 500 lives nationwide.
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, please visit www.redcross.org or visit Facebook at American Red Cross of Tennessee.
This scene from a fire-damaged home shows where a smoke alarm had been removed.