The American Red Cross serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota and community partners will install free smoke alarms and provide home fire prevention and safety education for residents in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks during a “Sound the Alarm” home fire safety event on Saturday, May 10.

“We’re looking forward to bringing our home fire safety program to Grand Forks and East Grand Forks this spring,” said Kimberly Vosseteig, American Red Cross Executive Director of the Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. “We've been working with local fire departments to identify neighborhoods for this important community outreach. Now, we need more local volunteers to make this event a success.”

Home fires claim seven lives every day, but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death from home fires in half. That’s why the Red Cross and community partners are rallying volunteers to install free smoke alarms as a part of our nationwide Sound the Alarm program.

Sound the Alarm smoke alarm installation events are a critical part of the national Red Cross Home Fire Campaign which aims to reduce the number of deaths from home fires. The Home Fire Campaign has helped save 2,284 lives since its launch in October 2014 due to working smoke alarms in homes.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED On May 3 volunteers will be canvassing in selected neighborhoods, and on May 10 volunteers will be out doing smoke alarm education and smoke alarm installations. Those who want to participate in this Sound the Alarm event can register at SoundTheAlarm.org/MNDAKS. No prior experience is needed — training will be provided for installing smoke alarms and sharing fire safety information.

IF YOU NEED A SMOKE ALARM Local residents who need a smoke alarm can call 612-460-3674 or visit SoundTheAlarm.org/MNDAKS to schedule an appointment for a free smoke alarm installation during this Red Cross Sound the Alarm event or at any time, year-round. During short home visits, Red Cross volunteers and partners will also share information on the causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan.

This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from our 2025 national partner State Farm and our regional sponsors, including State Farm, Sanford Health, Marathon Minnesota, Medica Foundation, Sammons Financial, Scheels, Border States, Ames Construction, Inc., Avera Health, Gate City Bank, Goldmark Property Management, Inc., Lewis, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Uponor, Inc. and Essentia Health.