MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) — Saturday morning the American Red Cross will launch its Sound the Alarm program.
Volunteers will be in the Graham Heights and Nutbush neighborhoods, going door to door, installing free smoke alarms for families who need it, and they’ll also help those families develop a fire safety plan.
“Here in our community, we average every single day three events in which people lose their homes because of residential fires,” said American Red Cross volunteer, Tom Campbell. “So, if we, on the front end, can go in and make sure smoke alarms are working and installed and that they have a plan, we can dramatically improve chances for people in our community.”
More than 100 volunteers will go door to door in those neighborhoods to check to see if families have working smoke alarms, if they don’t, they will install one for their home for free. They’ll also help them with their fire safety plans. More than seven confirmed lives have been saved since the program started in the Mid-South.
The Sound the Alarm program was launched nationally in 2014. Here are some impressive statistics:
552 documented lives saved
667,885 homes made safer
1,623,358 smoke alarms installed
574,522 home fire safety plans developed
73,576 smoke alarm batteries replaced
“We know that the program works, across the country we know that lives have been saved,” Campbell explained.
The Memphis Fire Department has teamed up with the American Red Cross for the program, and all of the smoke alarms were donated. Friday, volunteers and American Red Cross Staff will load trucks with equipment, and then they will head into the neighborhoods around 9:45 Saturday morning.