Media contact: Pooja Klebig
24/7 Media Hotline: 669.209.5266
NCCRPublicAffairs@redcross.org
San Francisco, Calif., April 23, 2025 — Volunteers are needed to help install more than 1,200 free smoke alarms for local families across the Bay Area, where home fires remain the most frequent disaster.
The American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region is leading the Sound the Alarm smoke alarm installation and home fire safety events as part of a national Red Cross initiative in April and May to install 50,000 free smoke alarms with partners in more than 50 at-risk communities across the country.
Register online at SoundTheAlarm.org/NCCR to volunteer for any of these Sound the Alarm events taking place across the Greater Bay Area:
No prior experience is needed. Training will be provided to volunteer teams prior to visiting homes with scheduled appointments.
Because of generous donations, all services are free and available for people in need. Can’t join the event? Help by donating to the Red Cross at SoundTheAlarm.org to help people prepare for, respond to and recover from home fires — which account for most of the U.S. disasters that the Red Cross responds to every eight minutes.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND PARNTERS This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from our 2025 national partners, State Farm and FEMA and our regional partners, FHL Bank San Francisco; Pacific Gas and Electric Company; CSAA Insurance Group; Robert and Virginia Stanton Endowment with the Community Foundation for Monterey County; Gloria and Mike Ipson; and Novato Mobile Home Park, LLC.
DO YOU NEED A SMOKE ALARM?
Local residents who need a smoke alarm can visit SoundTheAlarm.org/NCCR to schedule an appointment for a free smoke alarm installation during one of the region’s Red Cross Sound the Alarm events. During short home visits, Red Cross volunteers and partners will also share information on the causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan.
2,320 LIVES SAVED AND COUNTING
Sound the Alarm is part of the national Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which has helped save at least 2,320 lives since its launch in October 2014, thanks to working smoke alarms and fire escape planning. Across the country, Red Cross volunteers and local fire departments go door-to-door in at-risk communities to install free smoke alarms and educate families about home fire prevention.
Here in the Northern California Coastal Region, the Red Cross and its partners have installed more than 55,345 free smoke alarms and made over 20,000 households safer. In the Greater Bay Area, 32 lives have been saved where residents directly credit a Red Cross smoke alarm installation and fire escape plan for their survival.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
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