By: Angela Ezell

Maria Laura can rest a little easier knowing her grandson, Christian, is protected from a home fire with a bed shaker smoke alarm. The American Red Cross North Texas Region installed the new alarm for free in the Fort Worth, Texas, home.

“Sometimes, he’s the only reason I get up in the morning,” Laura said about her nine-year-old grandson.

Christian is deaf but can communicate in part due to his cochlear implant, speech therapy and sign language. Laura is also the primary caregiver for her mother, who has been diagnosed with late-stage Alzheimer’s Disease.   

“I knew about the alarm for him that would vibrate, but I didn’t know there was such a thing (as a bed shaker smoke alarm) until I spoke with the Red Cross at Mayfest,” says Laura.

A bed shaker is a device that can be placed under the mattress or inside a pillow. It physically vibrates to alert someone sleeping that there is smoke in the house.

The bed shaker is attached to a device that can serve as an alarm clock. If smoke is detected, the numbers are replaced by the word “Fire.” In addition to the bed shaker, a strobe light flashes with an intensity that can wake a sleeping person.

Laura says she is very appreciative of the new bed shaker. While fire safety is its primary function, she believes it will help Christian in other ways.

“I think it will give him more independence,’ says Laura, about the bed shaker’s ability to also serve as an alarm clock. “It definitely will give him independence and more responsibility,” says Laura.

Red Cross volunteer Allan Ramos installed the bed shaker for Christian and other smoke alarms in Laura’s home. He likes using his hands, so he naturally gravitated towards projects like installing smoke detectors.

Ramos, who has been with the Red Cross since 2016, has seen firsthand how smoke alarms and having an escape plan can save a life. Ramos says the most fulfilling part of his work is what happens after he finishes an installation.

“When people appreciate what you’re doing, you take that feeling with you,” Ramos said. 

For more information about the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign to make homes safer from fires, visit redcross.org/northtexas. If you cannot afford to purchase smoke alarms or are physically unable to install a smoke alarm, visit redcross.org/ntxhms or call 1-800-Red Cross to request a smoke alarm.