In the early hours of October 8 Rachel Howell woke up to sounds everyone fears hearing, smoke alarms going off.

“I was lying in bed, and I heard one of the alarms go off, I got up to look and didn’t see anything, so I went back to bed,” Rachel recalled. “The second alarm went off and when I got up flames were everywhere.”

Rachel grabbed a blanket to put over her head and made her way out of her home. At first she tried to go toward the front door but could not get there because of the flames and smoke, so she exited through the back door and got to a safe place where she could call the fire department.

The smoke alarms that alerted Rachel? Those were installed back in April of 2025 by brothers Jim and Dave Orr, longtime volunteers that’ve installed smoke alarms for years as part of the Red Cross’s Sound the Alarm program. Through the program the Red Cross partners with fire departments all over the nation to ensure that people have the newest and safest smoke alarms installed in their homes. During the installation process part of the team will speak with the resident about a fire safety plan, stressing the need to identify multiple exit points in the home should a fire occur, a point that paid off immensely for Rachel.

“They reminded me that if I couldn’t make it out the front door to go to the back door or out a window. I was able to escape through the back door,” Rachel said.

The Cambridge Fire Department responded, and shortly thereafter a crew of Red Cross Disaster Action Team member arrived. “I was so thankful that the Red Cross came out. They were so kind and even gave me a hug. I did not realize that the Red Cross did this kind of thing.”

On November 10 the Cambridge Fire Department hosted a recognition ceremony for the Red Crossers that played a role in Rachel’s life being saved. East Central Ohio Chapter Executive Director Rod Cook presented Cambridge Fire Department Fire Chief Jeff Deeks with a certificate honoring the department for their continued commitment to saving lives and making homes safer by installing smoke alarms.

Cook also presented Jim Orr with a certificate thanking him for his dedication and work installing smoke alarms and helping save lives, like Rachel’s. Firefighter Hunter Sovka, one of the firefighters that responded to the fire at Rachel’s home, and Red Cross DAT volunteers Keith Caldwell and Nick Pappas were there as well to celebrate the fact that Rachel is still around.

“It’s not often we get the unite the responders, installers and DAT teams with the people they helped,” Cook said. “Moments like this are special.”

The American Red Cross responds to around 65,000 disaster events yearly, most of which are home fires. Through our Sound the Alarm program thousands of smoke alarms have been installed in homes throughout the Central & Southern Ohio area. If you want to get new FREE smoke alarms installed in your home please call 1-844-207-4509.