Every day, seven people die in home fires, most often in homes without working smoke alarms. That’s why the American Red Cross launched our Home Fire Campaign in 2014. Through our home visits nationwide, Red Cross and partners have installed more than 3,155,000 free smoke alarms and made more than 1.3 million households safer across the country.

WATCH VIDEO: Home Fire Campaign 10 Years!

Last month, the Red Cross marked the anniversary of the program by installing smoke alarms in Trenton, one of the major cities that volunteers first canvassed in 2014. Installing new 10-year smoke alarms in the same community was a full-circle moment. Moreover, Trenton is home to Vanessa Downing, who credits smoke alarms installed in her home for saving her life in 2018.

As smoke was quietly filling her home, a sleeping Vanessa was awoken by the beeping smoke alarm installed in her home two years prior during a Red Cross Sound the Alarm event. She jumped out of bed and exited her home, successfully escaping the blaze.

“If it wasn’t for the alarms the Trenton Fire Department and American Red Cross installed in my house, I wouldn’t be here today,” Vanessa said.

Stories like Vanessa’s are told across the country, thanks to a program that has saved the lives of nearly 2,480 people – 20 here in New Jersey. Through the Home Fire Campaign and Sound the Alarm events, our teams have also educated some 28,000 households about fire safety.

This work, made possible by Red Cross volunteers and community partners, remains critically important as home fires remain the most frequent disaster nationwide.

“The New Jersey Red Cross, alongside some vital community partners, have collectively installed more than 60,000 alarms across the garden state in the last decade,” said Paul Gass, Regional Community Preparedness Manager. “We celebrate these milestones with immense pride but know the work does not stop as we continue our commitment to promoting fire safety in all New Jersey homes.”

PREVENT HOME FIRE TRAGEDIES Every second counts when there’s a home fire. Stay safe by taking two simple steps. First, test your smoke alarms each month and then, create and practice your home fire escape plan until everyone can get out in less than two minutes.

Place smoke alarms on each level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. In addition to testing your smoke alarms once a month, change the batteries at least once a year, if your model requires it. Check the manufacturer’s date of your smoke alarms. If they’re 10 years or older, they need to be replaced because the sensor becomes less sensitive over time. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

If you cannot afford to purchase smoke alarms or are physically unable to install one, schedule a free home fire safety visit and smoke alarm installation with us.

The Red Cross Pedro the Penguin youth preparedness program can help educate children about fire safety as well. Learn more at redcross.org/PrepareNJ and watch Pedro the Penguin prepare for home fires here.

Thank you to our partners who help make our work possible: Atlantic City Electric, First Energy Foundation, Franklin Mutual Insurance, Holman, NJM Insurance, PSEG Foundation, Somerset Regal Bank, William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation, and Virtua.