Red Cross to install free smoke alarms, provide fire-prevention information to homes in Watsonville on August 25

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CARMEL, CA (August 16, 2018) — On average, home fires kill 7 people and injure another 36 — every single day in the United States. That’s why the American Red Cross launched its nationwide Home Fire Campaign in 2014 with the goal of reducing the number of home fire deaths and injuries by 25 percent.

A key component of the campaign is a series of “Sound the Alarm – Save a Life” events in which Red Cross volunteers, working with local fire departments and other partners, visit high-risk neighborhoods to offer to install free smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms, and help families create escape plans. It is believed that the “Sound the Alarm” neighborhood visits have already saved more than 450 lives throughout the United States since the Home Fire Campaign began.

On Saturday, August 25, a Sound the Alarm event will take place in the city of Watsonville. That day, the American Red Cross of the Central Coast will be installing free smoke alarms and providing in-home fire preparedness education and earthquake preparedness education as part of a number of home visits in the city.

Trained Red Cross volunteers will conduct the home visits that day between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. During the home visits on August 25, Red Cross volunteers will be working alongside Watsonville Fire Department, local Boy Scouts of America, Wells Fargo employees, and Watsonville Fire Cadets.

In an earlier “Sound the Alarm” event in Watsonville, volunteers visited homes on June 24, 2017. On that day, more than 55 volunteers visited 150 homes and installed 220 alarms. The Red Cross’ partners that day were the Watsonville Fire Department, Boy Scouts, Eagle Scouts, Watsonville Police and Fire Cadets, Wells Fargo employees, Seaside High School, and Capital Insurance Group employees.

For information about the home visits in Watsonville on August 25 — or to sign up to volunteer that day — please contact the local chapter’s Disaster Program Specialist, Helen Cosentino, by sending her email at: helen.cosentino2@redcross.org.

In addition to the Sound the Alarm event, the American Red Cross of the Central Coast is also offering the installation of free smoke alarms and educational visits on an appointment basis throughout Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. If you would like free smoke alarms installed in your home, please use one of the following options to schedule an appointment:

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About American Red Cross of the Central Coast: With offices in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties, 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, visit our web site at redcross.org/centralcoast or call us at 831-624-6921. You may also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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