Volunteer disaster responders with the American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois responded to 24 fires across the region that affected 98 people, including 65 adults and 33 Children in the past week. Some of the towns and neighborhoods where these fires occurred were in Aurora, DeKalb, Cicero, Harvey, with 15 of the fires happening in the city of Chicago.
The Red Cross provided resources to help address immediate basic needs of those affected such as temporary housing, food, clothing, comfort kits with toiletry items, information about recovery services and health and mental health services.
In addition, volunteers with the American Red Cross have been canvassing neighborhoods in Chicago and Northern Illinois to install free smoke alarms. This weekend, volunteers installed 356 smoke alarms in 123 homes in Bolingbrook. Volunteers also visited homes in Rockford installing 237 smoke alarms in 88 homes.
Since the launch of Sound the Alarm on April 27, Red Cross volunteers with the support of local fire departments and community partners have installed a total of 2,052 smoke alarms in 741 homes in our region. Volunteers have also been educating residents about home fire safety and helping them create fire escape plans.
This is part of the American Red Cross effort to install 100,000 smoke alarms nationwide to prevent deaths and injuries from home fires. In Chicago and Northern Illinois, the Red Cross will install more than 2,000 smoke alarms in the region, including in the locations listed below:
Saturday, May 18
Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood – Douglas Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Dr.
Joliet – University of St. Francis (St. Clare Campus), 1550 Plainfield Rd.
Watch this video to see more about “Sound the Alarm.”
Find a link to installation b-roll here.
Residents can schedule a free smoke alarm installation at getasmokealarm.org.
If you like to volunteer and help the Red Cross install free smoke alarms in your community, visit soundthealarm.org/chicago. Residents volunteering at the event will receive two free Chicago White Sox tickets.
The Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters a year, the majority of which are home fires. Working smoke alarms in a home cut the risk of death by half and having an escape plan further improves the odds of survival. The Red Cross wants to end these tragedies and save lives, the reason why the organization launched the Home Fire Campaign in 2014.
About the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois:
The American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois serves 9.5 million people in 21 counties including Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Jo Daviess, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Whiteside, Will and Winnebago. 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 us at redcross.org/il/chicago or visit us on Twitter @ChicagoRedCross.