The American Red Cross Los Angeles Region recently installed more than 3,700 free smoke alarms during its Sound the Alarm home fire safety initiative. As part of a national push to install 100,000 free smoke alarms in 100 high-risk cities across the country, the Los Angeles-based chapter organized four events in Pomona, Panorama City, Long Beach and East LA.

SEE: Photo album from Sound the Alarm events in Los Angeles (Flickr)

“Every death by disaster is a tragedy in its own right, but home fire fatalities are particularly heartbreaking for the simple fact that so many might have been avoided with a few simple precautions,” said Jarrett Barrios, CEO of the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region. “We thank everyone who joined the Red Cross this spring to Sound the Alarm and help save lives from home fires.”

During these Sound the Alarm events, which fell on four consecutive Saturdays beginning April 27^th, more than 1,200 Red Cross volunteers canvassed neighborhoods with community partners to make more than 1,190 households safer by installing free smoke alarms and helping families create home fire escape plans.

Sound the Alarm is part of a national campaign launched by the Red Cross in 2014 to reduce death and injury from home fires. These crises kill seven people each day in the U.S. — most often in homes without working smoke alarms — and account for most of the more than 62,000 disasters that the Red Cross responds to each year.

Since 2014, the Red Cross and community partners have helped save the lives of at least 593 people across the country by:

·       Installing more than 1.7 million free smoke alarms

·       Reaching more than 1.3 million children through youth preparedness programs

·       Making more than 709,000 households safer from the threat of home fires

This work is made possible thanks to generous support from national partners: Airbnb, Delta Air Lines and Nissan North America.

Local Sound the Alarm events in Los Angeles were made possible thanks to generous support from regional partners UniHealth Foundation, Farmers Insurance, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Edison International, Wells Fargo, Kaiser Permanente, Arconic and SoCalGas.

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 information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossLA or @CruzRojaLA.