By Trista Lay

Over the course of two weekends in March 2025, volunteers with the East Tennessee chapter of the American Red Cross installed over 80 smoke alarms in local neighborhoods. These installations were conducted as part of the national Red Cross Sound the Alarm effort to ensure all homes in the United States are prepared in case of a fire.

The first event was held on March 8, 2025, and started in the Food City parking lot in Clinton, Tennessee. As many as fifty different volunteers were part of the effort that day and were joined by local radio station WIVK and the Clinton Fire Department as well as County Commissioner Denise Palmer. The second event took place in Sevierville, Tennessee on March 22, 2025, with the Sevierville Volunteer Fire Department joining volunteers.

Ingrid Schalk, a Red Cross spiritual care volunteer, credits her participation in the effort to her desire to become more involved.

“I’m certified in Emotional Spiritual Care with Disaster Cycle Services, but I’ve been looking for opportunities to get more involved with the American Red Cross,” Ingrid says.

She also added, “it was great to work with all the students from the University of Tennessee, Joe and Nancy from WIVK, the Clinton Fire Department and our dedicated Red Cross staff and volunteers - all working together to make the community a safer place to live.”

While many homes in America do have smoke alarms, the unfortunate reality is there are still homes where alarms are not installed or do not work. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that a significant majority of home fire deaths occur where there are no smoke alarms with one statistic placing these deaths at 38 percent.

Home fires claim seven lives every day, but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half. That’s why American Red Cross volunteers, like those in East Tennessee, come together to install free smoke alarms nationwide.

Sharon Hudson, Executive Director of the East Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross, thanked her volunteers for their efforts, saying their “contribution has made an incredible impact on our community. [Their] tenacity and commitment have been integral to the important work we do every day."

To learn more about Sound the Alarm, visit: RedCross.org/soundthealarm.