City of Monroe firefighters prepare to enter a fire-ravaged home in Monroe, Georgia, on November 20, 2019. The duplex pictured in the photo was equipped with smoke alarms courtesy of the American Red Cross’ Home Fire campaign. The smoke alarms were installed in the homes two years before the incident (2017). The two families (14 individuals) who lived in the duplex managed to escape the fire safely and are part of the 182 lives that have been saved in Georgia since the launch of the Home Fire Campaign in 2014. This photo is courtesy of the City of Monroe Fire Department.
Media Contact: Ruby Ramirez
(ATLANTA – Dec. 16, 2021) – Home fires claim more lives than all-natural disasters combined. Here in Georgia, home fires are a daily occurrence and increasing in number since the start of the pandemic. Since the launch of the American Red Cross' Home Fire Campaign in 2014, the state has emerged as a national leader with the greatest number of lives saved – 182 – as a direct result of efforts to educate families on the importance of fire safety and the installation of smoke alarms.
Working alongside local fire service agencies, community partners, and volunteers, the Red Cross has installed over 56,000 free smoke alarms in some of Georgia's most vulnerable communities since 2014, making households safer from the threat of home fires.
"Most people don't realize that a working smoke alarm can cut the risk of a person dying in a home fire by half," said Deirdre Dixon, American Red Cross of Georgia CEO. "We are extremely proud of the work our volunteers have accomplished with the help of our partners and the generosity of our donors across the state. This would not be possible without them."
To join in support of the Red Cross mission this holiday season, we invite people to visit www.redcross.org/gifts.
Nationally, since the launch of this campaign, the Red Cross has saved at least 1,148 lives, with the first life ever saved in the country recorded here in Warner Robins, Georgia.
The region also helped push the national number of lives saved by the American Red Cross over the 1,000 person threshold this summer when new technology helped to identify more Georgia homes where smoke alarm saves had occurred.
"The American Red Cross of Georgia has had enormous success with the Home Fire Campaign and has made a strong contribution to our national effort, said Kevin Kelley, Sr. Director, Community Preparedness Programs for the American Red Cross. “From the beginning, the Red Cross mobilized volunteers, partners, and community members to help families prepare by installing smoke alarms and practicing escape plans. With a documented 182 lives saved, Georgia has demonstrated how our preparedness programs can deliver results and make an impact,” added Kelly. “We celebrate and appreciate this accomplishment!"
Among the lives saved are those of families like Dewey Perry's, who was in his home in Atlanta when a fire erupted due to an improperly vented clothes dryer. According to Perry, the heat smoldered in the floor for over a day before breaking into a fire on the morning of December 14, 2018.
"We didn't know what was going on. I've never experienced anything like that in my life….It was just a shock to see smoke coming out all around the house and not knowing where it was coming from. I wouldn't wish that on anyone," said Perry.
Perry and his wife had two smoke alarms installed in his home by the American Red Cross of Georgia a year prior to this incident (2017) and both of them went off to alert them that smoke was quickly spreading. He called the fire department and they rushed outside. Perry says that if the fire had happened at night, he's not so sure they would have escaped in time without a smoke alarm to wake them up.
"I think the Red Cross smoke alarm program is more than worthwhile – it's definitely an asset to the community," Perry added.
NUMBER OF HOME FIRES AND HOME FIRE-RELATED FATALITIES GROW ACROSS GEORGIA AMID THE PANDEMIC
Despite the ongoing COVD-19 pandemic, work for the American Red Cross of Georgia has not stopped nor slowed. In fact, since the start of the pandemic, the Georgia Red Cross has seen the number of home fires across the state increase as well as the number of home fire-related fatalities.
From January to October of 2021, the Red Cross of Georgia saw the number of home fires surge by 23% with up to 2,378 home fires across the state, a jump from 1,947 during the same time frame last year.
The number of home fire-related fatalities is also up sharply by 31%, with 126 recorded home fire fatalities – including those of 15 children – across the state from January through the first two weeks of December. By comparison, last year the state saw a total of 96 home fire-related deaths.
According to Chief Darnell Fullum of DeKalb County Fire Rescue, our community is continuing to be challenged by the pandemic and the more time families spend at home, the more it leads to opportunities for these accidents.
“Workers and children have been home more due to offices and schools being closed. More cooking is being done at home and those doing the cooking may be a novice,” said the fire rescue chief for DeKalb County.
Unattended cooking – a behavior exhibited by nearly 70% of Americans, is the leading cause of all kitchen fires across the U.S., and cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home fire-related injuries across the country.
CONTINUING WORK TOWARD HOME FIRE PREVENTION
Preventing these tragedies that account for 92% of the disasters the American Red Cross of Georgia responds to is possible. The Red Cross' Home Fire Campaign has reinforced that working smoke alarms save lives and that a home fire escape plan further increases the odds of survival.
Since the launch of this campaign, the American Red Cross has installed 2.2 million free smoke alarms and will continue to work towards installing 2.5 million alarms and preparing 1 million homes across the nation with critical fire safety information.
As part of these efforts, the Red Cross' signature Sound the Alarm event will be back in 2022 after being put largely on pause for two years due to the pandemic. The event will look to install 50,000 free smoke alarms in high-risk neighborhoods and educate 100,000 people about home fire safety in 50 cities across the country, including Atlanta this spring. Additional Georgia communities will also participate.
Help keep your family safe by taking two simple steps: Practice your two-minute escape drill and test your smoke alarms monthly. Visit SoundTheAlarm.org and pledge to prepare your family against home fires.
HOW TO HELP THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
This year alone, Georgia’s Red Cross has helped 9,721 individuals (through October 2021) impacted by home fires, assisting with emergency needs for temporary lodging, food, clothing, personal care items, and other essentials, including resources to help through the recovery process.
To Give Something That Means Something this holiday season, the Red Cross invites people to visit www.redcross.org/gifts to join us in both aiding our disaster-stricken neighbors and helping to prepare our most vulnerable communities with a financial contribution. The Red Cross depends on the support of the public to continue educating at-risk communities, installing smoke alarms, and helping families recover from home fires.
For more information, including safety tips or help developing and to practice a home fire escape plan, visit redcross.org/homefires or download the free Red Cross Emergency app by searching for 'American Red Cross' in app stores.
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 @RedCross.