Media Contact: Jim Burns
408-483-7455 | jim.burns@redcross.org
24-hour Toll-Free Media Hotline:
669-209-5266 | NCCRpublicaffairs@redcross.org
CARMEL, CA (February 20, 2020) — 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 homes to install free smoke alarms if needed and help families create escape plans. It is believed that the "Sound the Alarm" neighborhood visits have saved more than 700 lives throughout the United States since the Home Fire Campaign began.
On Saturday, February 29, Red Cross teams will conduct Sound the Alarm home visits in the city of Greenfield. That day, the American Red Cross of the Central Coast will be installing free smoke alarms and providing fire and earthquake preparedness education in visits planned between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The local Red Cross chapter's work in Greenfield that day continues the chapter's efforts to install smoke alarms in area homes that need them. In just the three counties (Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz) that the Central Coast Chapter serves, volunteers installed more than 1,500 smoke alarms in homes in 2019 alone.
On February 29, local Red Cross volunteers will be partnering with members of the Greenfield Fire Department, as well as students from Seaside High School and UC Santa Cruz.
More volunteers are welcome to support the work that day and are needed at other future "Sound the Alarm" events. If you can help, please:
• Contact the local Red Cross chapter's Disaster Program Specialist, Helen Cosentino, by sending email to helen.cosentino2@redcross.org.
• Or, phone 831-600-4914.
Please also email Cosentino if you want additional information about the home visits in Greenfield on February 29.
In addition to the local Sound the Alarm event planned for that day, the American Red Cross of the Central Coast is also offering the installation of free smoke alarms and educational visits on an appointment basis throughout Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties. If you would like free smoke alarms installed in your home, please send email to SmokeAlarmInstallNorCal@redcross.org or phone 831-600-4914 to schedule an appointment.
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Supporting our 'Sound the Alarm' home visits: This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from our national partners: Airbnb, Delta, and Nissan; and our regional partners: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, CSAA Insurance Group – an AAA Insurer, Dignity Health, Linden Root Dickinson Foundation, Camille McCormack, State Farm Insurance, John and Marcia Goldman Foundation, Karen Turner Sanford, and Veritas.
About American Red Cross of the Central Coast: With offices in Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties, 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, visit our web site at redcross.org/centralcoast or call us at 831-624-6921. You may also find us on Facebook and Twitter.