By Kelley Lieberman, American Red Cross volunteer

There is a fan-favorite episode of the television show “Friends” where Phoebe tries desperately to turn off her constantly beeping smoke alarm. She hits it with a shoe, tries to remove the battery and ultimately throws it down her apartment’s garbage chute, only for it to be returned to her by a friendly fireman.

The episode makes me and many others laugh because we have all been there – a smoke alarm goes off in the middle of the night because of a dead battery, and we can’t seem to make the beeping stop whatever we do. It’s a common event that leaves many of us not wanting to buy a new alarm or forgetting to buy a new one once we figure out how to silence the old alarm. Unfortunately, others are unable to replace their smoke alarm due to the cost or perhaps they can’t physically install the new alarm themselves. No matter the reason, many end up living without the proper number or location of smoke alarms in their home.

Home fires claim seven lives every day, and it’s often due to lack of working smoke alarms. Smoke alarms can and do save lives. In fact, working smoke alarms in a home can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by roughly half!

This is why hundreds of volunteers gathered across four mobile home parks in Escondido on April 18 to help educate residents about home fire safety, develop an evacuation plan, and install free life-saving smoke alarms where needed. Sound the Alarm events like this one are part of the nationwide Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which aims to prevent home fire deaths and injuries.

By the Numbers - Sound the Alarm Event in Escondido on April 18, 2026:

• 160 homes visited
• 488 free smoke alarms installed
• 499 people served

Thank you to all the volunteers and partners who helped save lives through this event in Escondido and across the nation!