by Marcia Antipa
On a recent chilly Saturday morning, high school senior Brayden Rapa joined dozens of other volunteers at the Vallejo Mobile Estates. Their goal was to make this community safer by installing free smoke alarms, made possible courtesy of the American Red Cross.
Brayden, a student at Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, volunteered for the event as part of his senior class project. He says most seniors choose a project based on a career path they are passionate about. He chose fire prevention because he plans to become a firefighter.
“Ever since I was young, I’ve had a good amount of respect for them. I really admire how they save lives. They’re great for the community. They’re always really nice when you talk to them, and I feel like they’re heroes in this world.”
While searching for a way to help with fire prevention, Brayden found out about the Red Cross Sound the Alarm campaign, which aims to educate communities about fire safety and escape plans and install free smoke alarms. On April 26, he gathered with other volunteers for a quick orientation and training, then headed out into the mobile home park to help install free smoke alarms. Veteran Red Crossers John Hulls and Kathleen Savage showed Brayden the ropes, and soon he was wielding a cordless drill like a pro.
Just before volunteering at the Sound the Alarm event, Brayden earned his CPR and Basic Life Support certifications. He has a clear path forward toward becoming a firefighter.
“Now I’m planning out my schedule at Los Medanos College so that I can get my Emergency Medical Technician certificate over there and go through the fire academy in one of my future semesters,” he said.
Brayden says taking part in the Sound the Alarm campaign did more for him than just fulfill his senior project requirement.
Going into the peoples’ homes, you can tell that they’re really thankful for what they’re receiving, and it feels pretty good.
Brayden
“It was a really good experience. You get to meet a lot of people through installing the alarms. Going into the peoples’ homes, you can tell that they’re really thankful for what they’re receiving, and it feels pretty good.”
Since the Sound the Alarm Campaign began in 2014, more than 2300 lives have been saved by Red Cross-installed smoke alarms.
To learn more visit soundthealarm.org/NCCR. To learn how you can become a Red Cross volunteer, visit redcross.org/volunteer.
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