Volunteers with the American Red Cross Indiana Region and community partners will be installing FREE smoke alarms in South Broad Ripple on Friday, April 28 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition, volunteers will be providing home fire safety education to families. Teams will depart from the State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.
Since launching in October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign has saved at least 1,583 lives nationwide — including 35 people in the Indiana Region — from the threat of home fires, which claim seven lives every day in the U.S. Most often, these tragedies occur in homes without working smoke alarms.
“We are proud of our incredible work with community partners to help save lives by providing free smoke alarms in South Broad Ripple as part of the national Home Fire Campaign,” said Brice Johnson, executive director and interim regional executive of the Red Cross Indiana Region. “This amazing effort has been made possible by every volunteer, donor and supporter who teamed up to care for vulnerable families in our community.”
The Red Cross with the support of community partners has achieved its goal of installing 2.5 million free smoke alarms and making 1 million households safer across the country.
Locally, Red Cross volunteers and partners have:
Home fires account for most of the more than 60,000 disasters that the Red Cross responds to annually in the Indiana Region and across the country. So far in 2023, Red Cross volunteers have helped more than 1,800 people affected by disasters, including home fires in the Indiana Region by providing emergency lodging, financial assistance for urgent needs like food and clothing, and one-on-one recovery support for navigating next steps and connecting with community resources.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED Help save lives through the campaign by becoming a volunteer or making a financial donation to prepare, respond and help families recover from home fires. Learn more at redcross.org/volunteer.
You can also help your family by testing your smoke alarms monthly and practicing your two-minute home fire escape plan. Additional safety tips are available at redcross.org/fire and on the free Red Cross Emergency app (search “American Red Cross” in mobile app stores).
This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from regional partners: Allegion, Allied Solutions, Elevance Health Foundation, Eskenazi Health, Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, Hays + Sons, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jasper Holdings, Inc., NTT Indycar Series, United Way of Central Indiana, UPS and WTHR (channel 13).
About the American Red Cross Indiana Region:
The American Red Cross of Indiana Region serves 6.9 million people in 104 counties in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio through its six chapters: Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, Southwest, and Greater Indianapolis (Regional Headquarters). 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/Indiana or follow us on Facebook, Twitter @INRedCross and Instagram @indianaredcross.