This Community Risk Reduction Week (January 20-26), the American Red Cross of Greater Kansas encourages everyone to follow important steps to prevent home fires. Over the past decade, The Red Cross Home Fire Campaign has saved more than 2,000 lives, installed nearly 3 million smoke alarms, made over 1.2 million households safer and served over 3.1 million people through in-home visits.
"Since launching the Home Fire Campaign in 2014, we’ve helped save more than 2,000 lives across the country by installing free smoke alarms and helping families create escape plans,” said Jane Blocher, Executive Director for the Red Cross of Greater Kansas. “This Community Risk Reduction Week, help protect your family by testing your smoke alarms and practicing your two-minute escape plan with everyone in your household.”
As the Red Cross has adapted our mission over the years to meet the needs of communities and to help prevent deaths and injuries from home fires, our work remains critically important as home fires remain the most frequent disaster nationwide. This critical work is made possible through our volunteers and partners, who have helped us to install more than 2.6 million free smoke alarms and make more than 1 million households safer nationwide.
Through targeted outreach, we’re working with community partners to connect with families and educate kids about home fire safety. Home fires claim seven lives every day in the U.S., but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half. Sound the Alarm events are part of our national Home Fire Campaign, which has saved at least 2,266 lives and installed more than 2.6 million free smoke alarms across the country.
- GET HELP: If you need smoke alarms, visit SoundTheAlarm.org/kansas for a free smoke alarm installation.
- VOLUNTEER: Join in our lifesaving mission. Visit redcross.org/volunteer to sign up to help your community by installing smoke alarms or responding to home fires.
- DONATE: Thanks to donations, our services are free and available for all those in need. Help families prepare for, respond to and recover from home fires by giving at redcross.org.
Visit 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).