By: Betsy Calderon

After retiring from a 26-year career in law enforcement, David Saucedo joined the Red Cross a year ago and trained as a Disaster Action Team member. He quickly made his mission to make a lifesaving difference by installing smoke alarms. Since joining the Red Cross, David has installed more than 1,200 smoke alarms across the San Antonio area.

David now has a collection of old smoke alarms to show for it. His collections spans from smoke alarms throughout the decades. Which means he has installed smoke alarms in homes that haven’t had a working smoke alarm since the 1960s.

One Workday Wednesday, David stopped by the Greater San Antonio office, picked up his gear, and headed out for the day’s appointments. One of his visits took him to the home of a 96‑year‑old woman, where he installed new smoke alarms to help keep her safe.

As he worked, she shared that she had once served as a nurse for the Red Cross. Grateful for the installation, she generously donated her old Red Cross uniform to our chapter.

“She had the uniform in her closet and had no use for it. It was just sitting there, so she donated it,” David shared. “It went full circle. She was a volunteer, and years later, she needed our help.”

Today, that uniform is proudly displayed in the museum at the Greater San Antonio Chapter, serving as a powerful reminder of service across generations.