By: Jay Lawrence, Volunteer
Any time is a horrible time for a home fire. But the one that Carlyn Floyd escaped came at an especially bad moment.
She was home in bed on an afternoon, sick with Covid 19, her only companion her 1-year-old dog LaLa. When the fire started in the other part of her duplex and quickly spread, she heard the smoke alarm in her apartment. She and LaLa got out immediately and watched the fire destroy her home.
“If it hadn’t been for that smoke detector, I would be gone. Due to that smoke alarm, I’m able to talk to you,” said the Columbus resident.
The fire was in January, and Columbus Fire and EMS installed the Red Cross-donated smoke alarm just three months earlier. Thus Floyd’s was another life saved by the Red Cross Sound the Alarm program – the 182nd in Georgia alone so far.
That’s why from April 30 to May 22 the Red Cross and partners, in Georgia and nationwide, will aim to install more than 50,000 more free smoke alarms. The goal in Georgia is more than1,600.
“Smoke alarms are a life-saver,” said Floyd, 44, a homebuilder and remodeler. “Everyone needs one.”
Red Cross has saved more than 1,200 lives through Sound the Alarm since 2014
Sound the Alarm is a key component of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which started in 2014. Since then the Red Cross has documented 1,243 lives saved through Sound the Alarm. There may be many more.
Every day, seven Americans lose their lives in home fires and having a working smoke alarm can cut your chance of dying by half. Of the 60,000 disasters the Red Cross responds to every year, the vast majority are home fires.
“It’s terrific,” said Red Cross volunteer Bill Watt, who provided emergency assistance to Floyd after her fire. “We’d much rather prevent injuries and deaths and severe damage with a smoke alarm.”
Across Georgia this spring the Red Cross is focusing on nine cities. It will be the first time since the pandemic began that volunteers will be entering homes to install smoke alarms. Previously, since Covid-19 struck, Red Cross alarms have continued to be installed by partners like Columbus Fire and EMS.
"The Red Cross is a great partner,” said Columbus Fire and EMS Assistant Chief Tim Smith. “We have the same goal - preventing fires and saving lives, and Sound the Alarm is an outstanding way to do that.”
Instead of going into homes during the pandemic, the Red Cross has focused on making homes safer virtually through phone appointments with residents. During these sessions, volunteers have educated families on the steps they can take to protect them from tragedy – such as by having a home escape plan – and on how to stay safe during other disasters like tornados and hurricanes.
This spring, volunteers, and partners who go into homes will deliver that same safety education in person while smoke alarms are being installed.
Meanwhile, Floyd has been using her work skills to get her apartment back into shape. She’s grateful to the Red Cross. “The Red Cross helped me and gave me resources and they’re still helping me,” she said. “This whole ordeal has not been pretty but it could have been a whole lot worse.”
As for volunteer Watt, who was an air traffic controller for 25 years, he keeps on going to home fires. “It’s very fulfilling when you’re able to help people in a tough spot in their lives,” he said.
To learn more about how you can help with Sound the Alarm, or learn how to make your home safer, go to SoundtheAlarm.org. To become a volunteer, or make a financial contribution go to redcross.org/donate or call 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-833-2767).
