Media Contact: Marita Salkowski
513-477-1694 | Marita.salkowski@redcross.org

April 15, 2025—Our hearts go out to the family, friends, and community members who have lost loved-ones in the recent rash of fatal home fires in our neighborhoods. Since January, Red Cross volunteers and staff in the Central & Southern Ohio region have responded to 33 individual incidents involving 47 fatalities. What’s particularly concerning is that a disturbing number of fatal fires continues into springtime, beyond the usual peak fire season of Autumn/Winter.

The Red Cross offers Integrated Condolence Care (ICC) services to those suffering from the unthinkable loss of a loved one as a result of a disaster. Our (ICC) teams consist of trained volunteers who provide casework and recovery planning, disaster spiritual care, disaster mental health and disaster health services. These contacts are offered concurrently as needed to minimize intrusion and maximize care, comfort and support. Additional financial assistance may be offered to help offset the costs related to the death for which they likely had not budgeted.

You can protect yourself from home fires by taking two simple steps: Install and test smoke alarms and practice your fire escape plan.

Smoke Alarms-The Red Cross responds to about 65,000 disasters a year, the majority of which are home fires. Home fires claim seven lives a day in the United States. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half, because the sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get out.

Smoke alarms should be tested monthly. During testing, teach children what a smoke alarm sounds like and talk about fire safety and what to do in an emergency. Smoke alarms should be less than ten years old because the sensor becomes less sensitive over time. Check the manufacturer’s date on the smoke alarm to determine its age. Smoke alarms should be mounted on each level of your home and placed in all bedrooms and sleeping areas.

If you don’t have working smoke alarms, or have old alarms that need to be replaced, call our smoke alarm installation hotline at 1-844-207-4509 to schedule an installation appointment. Partnering with our local fire departments around the region, the Red Cross—through our Home Fire Campaign--provides FREE state-of-the-art smoke alarms and installation, develops home fire escape plans and provides other disaster preparedness information.

Since the inception of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, more than 105,000 FREE smoke alarms have been installed in over 44,000 homes in the Central & Southern Ohio region. We’re proud of more than 100 documented cases of lives saved here in our 47 counties because residents, experiencing a home fire, were alerted by a Red Cross installed smoke alarm, or because they received and followed home fire escape plans developed by Red Cross volunteers.

Escape Plans- Every second counts during a home fire. It’s critical to create an escape plan and practice it regularly, ensuring that every member of the home can be out of the residence within two minutes. This is critical because you may only have that short amount of time to escape a burning home before it’s too late. Escape plans should include: 

• At least two ways to exit every room in your home
• An agreed upon meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s house or a specific tree in your front yard
   

Visit www.redcross.org/fire for more information, including a home fire escape plan to create and practice with your household. You can also download our free Emergency app—search “American Red Cross” in app stores or go to www.redcross.org/apps  

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org/centralandsouthernoh, or visit us on X or Facebook @ARCcsor.