DOVER-FOXCROFT – The American Red Cross of Maine and Emera Maine are partnering with the Dover-Foxcroft Fire Department to make households safer by installing free smoke alarms and teaching families about home fire safety on Saturday, March 10. 

Dover-Foxcroft residents can schedule an appointment to have smoke alarms installed in their homes – free of charge – by calling (207) 874-1192 ext. 113 or by signing up at SoundTheAlarm.org/Maine. 

Home fire safety teams will follow-up on Saturday, March 10, by speaking to residents who have made appointments about fire safety, creating emergency escape plans with them and installing battery-operated smoke alarms free of charge. This event is made possible thanks to the efforts of community volunteers and the Dover-Foxcroft Fire Department and to a grant from Emera Maine.

The Dover-Foxcroft event is part of the Home Fire Campaign launched by the Red Cross in 2014 to reduce home fire deaths and injuries. Since then, the Red Cross and its partners have installed 1.3 million smoke alarms nationally and 10,000 in Maine.

The efforts are paying off. Last year, eight lives in Farmingdale were saved because of the Home Fire Campaign. Nationally, at least 384 lives have been saved. 

Working smoke alarms reduce the risk of death in a home fire by half – and having an escape plan further increases the odds of survival. 

Emera Maine’s grant enables the Red Cross to stage a Home Fire Campaign event in Dover-Foxcroft.

“We’re partnering with the Red Cross for the third time on a Home Fire Campaign event,” said Charlene McQuaid, Vice President, HR and External Affairs, for Emera Maine.  “Following the success of similar projects in Machias and Ellsworth last year, we wanted to continue the good work the Red Cross is doing to make Maine people safer. Safety is at the forefront of all we do at Emera Maine, so we couldn’t be happier to provide this support.”

“Home fires kill seven people every day in the United States. We are working to prevent these tragedies,” said Kristen Simas, the Red Cross disaster program manager for Piscataquis, Penobscot and Aroostook counties.  “Smoke alarms do save lives. We know that is true here in Maine and across the country.”