By Volunteer Kai Estrada

On a cold but sunny day, the cafeteria inside of the Thomas Edison Elementary School was filled with American Red Cross volunteers, a large team from MIRA USA, and other community partners. Chatter pervaded the room as teams huddled in training sessions, gearing up for a day of making homes safer as part of this year’s Sound the Alarm signature event in Union City.

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Home fires kill more people in an average year than every other domestic natural disaster combined. To combat these tragedies, the American Red Cross launched the Home Fire Campaign across the country to reduce deaths and injuries from home fires. As part of the Home Fire Campaign, Sound the Alarm events bring volunteers together in a community to knock on doors and install free smoke alarms, while also educating families about home fire safety.

American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey Executive Director Sara Huisking addressed the crowd, thanking all of the volunteers participating, and adding a special thank you to community partners and supporters.

She said, “We’d like to give a huge thank you to our partners for this event, our wonderful hosts from Union City - Mayor Stack and Union City Fire Prevention, along with their firefighters here today. The Red Cross appreciates our Sound the Alarm supporters, including StateFarm, PSEG Foundation and volunteers from our wonderful partners like MIRA USA. We cannot do this without you!”

The goal was simple: Install as many smoke alarms as possible, making homes safer. Red Cross disaster volunteers respond to numerous home fires each year in Union City, which is why it was selected as the Sound the Alarm signature city in the New Jersey Region this year. After teams were sorted out, the groups took to the street in squads of six or more, pulling wagons filled with smoke alarms, installation materials, and fire safety information packets. When no one was home, groups left behind fire safety education materials and a “sorry we missed you” card, which included a telephone number that families could call to set up smoke alarm installations at a later time.

Gina Tauriello, a Union City resident who has lived in the same home for decades, was thrilled when a team knocked on her door. The 89-year-old Uruguayan native led the team down a hallway and into her warm, well-loved home. As MIRA USA volunteer Sylvestre began removing an expired alarm in a living-room filled with plants, another volunteer shared helpful fire safety information with Gina and her son. As the team installed a third alarm in the home, Gina began to tell her family’s story, bonding with a Union City firefighter, whose family also hails from Uruguay.

“I have been here since 1965,” she said, explaining that she has so many wonderful memories in her home. Since her husband of 69 years passed away recently, she has frequent visits from her son, who lives nearby. She took joy in talking about her family’s lineage, representing Uruguay, Argentina, Italy and America. “I also have a wonderful son in Miami and a granddaughter there who is a teacher.”

Her pride of family and the life they’ve lived in their home is evidenced by the numerous family photos displayed throughout the home. Hearing her story, and feeling so welcome, made a cold winter’s day much warmer.

“Thank you,” said Gina. “Now I feel safer.”

Throughout the day, volunteers knocked on more than 700 doors and installed a total of 158 free smoke alarms in 77 homes. They helped educate 290 people on the vital importance of creating a two-minute home fire escape plan and other fire safety steps. The teams also installed 65 carbon monoxide alarms, thanks to a generous donation from the PSEG Foundation.

Learn more about how you can make your home safer from home fires by visiting redcross.org/PrepareNJ.