When a home catches on fire, a working smoke alarm can be the difference between life and death. And the American Red Cross will install them free of charge for homeowners as a part of their national Sound the Alarm Campaign.
Carla Dobbs and 5-year-old daughter Mariah Tunnell know first-hand how important a working smoke alarm can be, as they were home relaxing and watching TV when suddenly they were jarred by the high-pitched beeping from the smoke alarm in the back of the house.
A certified nursing assistant, Carla was unwinding that early evening in October 2019, enjoying the company of her daughter and sister, Mary Tunnell. At first, she thought the alarm was going off because something she had left on the stove was burning.
But her feelings quickly turned to fear when she saw the smoke starting to fill the living room of their two-bedroom framed house. Carla realized she had to act quickly.
“I got my three dogs and my little one and we ran out of the house,” she said. “It really was horrifying. The flames came in pretty fast and we got out in the nick of time.”
Recalling those terrifying minutes, Carla said, “I was so panicky and at a loss for words. I’m really glad everyone got out safely. I feel so fortunate that we had a smoke alarm that worked and warned us.”
The Trenton, Missouri, Fire Department arrived and doused the fire that started in the attached garage and spread to the house. Carla said the fire department had installed the smoke alarm provided by the Red Cross a few years earlier
The Red Cross partners with fire departments as part of its national Sound the Alarm home fire safety campaign that began in 2014 to prepare families to act quickly. The program has already made a lifesaving difference, achieving its initial goal of installing 2.5 million free smoke alarms and making 1 million households safer in at-risk communities.
Since the campaign began, the Red Cross has documented at least 1,664 lives saved, including Carla and her family.
The importance of such a program can be seen in the numbers – on average a person has two minutes to safely escape from a burning home; each day seven people die and 30 people are injured from home fires.
Recalling that day, Carla shakes her head as she holds Mariah in her arms outside their new home not far from they had been living.
“I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. We lost everything and it was very hard to start over but we managed to get through it,” she said. “The Good Lord was with us, that is for sure.”
Carla said the big take-away for her is that smoke alarms really can mean the difference between surviving or dying in a home fire.
“I really would recommend having a smoke alarm in your home because they save lives — as we found out,” she said. “We have smoke alarms where we are now and we thank the Red Cross for that.”
To schedule a Red Cross home fire safety visit and installation of free smoke alarms, go to
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