Your Red Cross Update

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.

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 10-year smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms, and help families create escape plans. It is believed that the Sound the Alarm neighborhood visits, in which more than 1.5 million alarms have been installed, have already saved more than 500 lives throughout the United States since the Home Fire Campaign began.

During the month of March, eight more Sound the Alarm events were held in the American Red Cross’s Northern California Coastal Region. Here is a brief summary of each of these local activities:

• In Vallejo on Saturday, March 9, volunteers installed 36 alarms in 19 homes. (See the photo album for this activity.)
• In Rohnert Park on Saturday, March 9, volunteers installed 80 alarms in 28 homes. (See the photo album for this activity.)
• In San Francisco on Saturday, March 9, volunteers installed 100 alarms in 21 homes. In all, the work made 52 people safer. For the home visits in the Outer Sunset neighborhood that day, the Red Cross partnered with Holy Name Church and the San Francisco Fire Department. 
• In San Jose on Saturday, March 23, 49 volunteers installed 251 alarms in 87 homes. In all, the work made 163 people safer. For the home visits that day, the Red Cross teams partnered with Beautiful Day and the San Jose Fire Department.
• In Oakland on Saturday, March 30, volunteers installed 214 alarms in 54 homes. In all, the work made 197 people safer. The Oakland Fire Department was a key partner in this work.
• In Watsonville on Saturday, March 30, more than 40 volunteers installed 162 alarms in 52 homes. In all, the work made 228 people safer. The eight Red Cross teams were also supported by volunteers from the Watsonville Fire Department, Watsonville Fire Cadets, and Watsonville Police Cadets. Watsonville Fire Chief Rudy Lopez greeted the teams and shared his heartfelt appreciation for their live-saving service. Central Coast Board Chair, Rayvon Williams, also participated in his first Sound the Alarm event.
• In Willits on Saturday, March 30, volunteers installed 59 alarms in 20 homes. The Red Cross partnered with NCO (North Coast Opportunities) and AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) teams to make these home visits.
• In San Francisco on Saturday, March 30, volunteers installed 41 alarms in 9 homes, making 19 people safer. Volunteers also gathered 18 sign-ups for future appointments.

From April 27 through May 12 this spring, volunteers and partners in communities throughout the country will be making an extra push to make in-home Sound the Alarm visits. The goal of this national effort will be to install 100,000 smoke alarms during that three-weekend period.

A number of these spring events are scheduled to take place in our region, and organizers are still in need of volunteer support. For information about how you can volunteer at these events, please see this press release.

For more information about the overall impact of the Home Fire Campaign in our region — and to sign-up to help at an installation event near you, you may also go to this web page. (This page also contains information about our generous regional and national Sound the Alarm partners.)

Thank you to all who are making our region’s contributions to this national Red Cross campaign so successful!