When Ashley Paris goes to sleep at night, she enters a world of complete silence. Without her cochlear implants — which she charges overnight — she can’t hear anything around her. And for someone living alone, that quiet can feel unsettling.

To help keep Ashley safe and bring peace of mind, the Montana Red Cross recently installed free smoke alarms and a bed shaker alarm in her Billings apartment. The specialized equipment, designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, includes a device that vibrates to wake her if smoke is detected.

Ashley is no stranger to Red Cross home fire safety services. She received smoke alarms and a bed shaker alarm several years ago while living in Laurel. After recently moving to Billings to be closer to family, she worked with her caseworker to make sure those alarms could be installed again in her new home.

“When we sat down together, Ashley talked about how scary home fires feel for her and how much she wanted to make sure she was safe, especially at night,” said Samantha Samples, the Red Cross community disaster program manager in Eastern Montana. “Being able to put those protections in place and help her feel more at ease was incredibly meaningful.”

Now Ashley can sleep a little easier.

“Sometimes it’s kind of scary to go to bed, and you can’t hear anything,” she said. “It’s very challenging for me. I just feel like I can calm down now.”

Ashley’s concerns grew even stronger after a recent close call.

“A couple of months ago, somebody had a kitchen fire right across from the unit in my apartment,” she said. “It kind of made me nervous.”

In addition to installing the alarms, Samantha spent time with Ashley walking through a personalized home fire safety plan. Together, they talked through escape routes, identified a safe meeting location and discussed putting together a “go basket” with essentials — like medications and important personal items — that could be quickly grabbed in an emergency.

“We talked about putting that plan into practice so that if something did happen, she would feel comfortable acting,” Samantha said.

Their conversation went beyond fire safety. They also discussed tornado preparedness, identified a safe place in Ashley’s apartment, downloaded the Red Cross Emergency App on her phone and set up alerts and notifications.

For Ashley, this new sense of security is something she hopes others can experience, too — especially people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

“I just want them to know it’s available,” she said. “It would be safer for people that can’t hear and who need this kind of stuff.”

Free smoke alarm installations available

The American Red Cross offers free smoke alarm installations, including bed shaker alarms for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

To learn more or make an appointment, visit: https://www.redcross.org/local/montana/about-us/our-work/home-fire-campaign.html.