DETROIT (April 13, 2023) – The American Red Cross and its community partners in Michigan are sounding the alarm about home fires and how to keep families safe.

Home fires account for the vast majority of the 60,000 disasters the Red Cross responds to annually in the United States. After a home fire, Red Cross volunteers work with fire departments to connect with families for needs like emergency lodging, financial assistance and emotional support. In 2022, the Red Cross in Michigan helped 7,542 people displaced by 2,088 home fires.

Home fires claim seven lives every day nationally, and most of them occur in homes without working smoke alarms. To address this daily threat, the Red Cross installs free smoke alarms in homes that need them year-round and amplifies that awareness with a smoke alarm installation and fire safety education drive called Sound the Alarm.  

In Michigan, Sound the Alarm kicks off Saturday, April 15, and runs through May 6. Red Cross volunteers and employees will be joined by community partners in public safety, business and government to:

• Install 1,800 smoke alarms in homes that need them in Detroit and throughout the state.

“This is an opportunity to teach families and their loved ones about how to protect themselves from these everyday crises,” said Mary Lynn Foster, regional chief executive officer for the Red Cross in Michigan. “We are grateful for the support of our volunteers and community partners to help save lives.”

Sound the Alarm is part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which was launched in 2014 to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries by installing free smoke alarms and teaching families about home fire safety. These smoke alarms are made by possible by donations to the Red Cross. Since the start of the campaign, the Red Cross has installed 2.5 million smoke alarms in homes and made 1 million households safer nationwide – a milestone achieved in February. In Michigan alone, the Red Cross has installed 70,462 smoke alarms and made 27,426 households safer since 2014.

“Every second counts when there’s a home fire,” said Darwin Roche, regional disaster officer for the Red Cross in Michigan. “Home fires are so dangerous and claim more lives in a typical year than all natural disasters combined. But working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by 50 percent.”

The sooner an alarm goes off, the sooner occupants in a home can escape. People have less than two minutes to escape a burning home, Roche said.

Today, fires travel faster through homes, largely due to popular open-concept layouts and synthetic materials. Synthetics burn more rapidly than hardwood and cotton, which were more common in older homes that typically had more walls and doors, lower ceilings and narrower hallways that help to better confine fires.

In addition to installing smoke alarms, the Red Cross will meet with families to create a two-minute fire escape plan and share safety information about home fires and other local disaster risks. A fire escape plan should include at least two ways to exit every room in the home and practiced twice a year.

The Red Cross makes these recommendations for your smoke alarms:

• Place them on each level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas.
• Test them once a month. Change the batteries at least once a year if your model requires it.
• If they are older than 10 years, it is best to replace them. The components, such as batteries, can become less reliable. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendation.

“We’ve made a lifesaving difference through the work we’ve done through our Home Fire Campaign and Sound the Alarm,” Roche said. “We continue to build on that momentum to help more families in need.”

To schedule a smoke alarm installation appointment:

• Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit here

There are two ways for the community to get involved in the Home Fire Campaign and Sound the Alarm:

• Volunteer: The Red Cross will provide training for installations. No experience necessary. Register at https://rdcrss.org/2XX9AGo and use your zip code to find volunteer opportunities in your area.

• Donate: Thanks to donations, our services are free and available for all those in need. Help families prepare for, respond to, and recover from home fires by texting the word HOMEFIRE to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Or visit https://rdcrss.org/3KRrpll.

News media interested in photo-ops at a smoke alarm installation event are asked to contact MICommunications@redcross.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: David Olejarz | david.olejarz@redcross.org | 313-303-0606

About the American Red Cross 
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.