Fire Preparedness Campaign Needs Volunteers

Muskingum County is looking for volunteers for their ‘Home Fire Preparedness Campaign’ where they will try to reach their goal of installing 145 free smoke alarms in local homes.

Installation will take place Tuesday September 15th and Friday September 18th. Everyone will meet downtown Zanesville at the fire station for donuts and coffee around 8:30 a.m. which will be then followed by a short orientation before heading out for installation. Lunch will also be provided for those lending a hand.

“We want to make sure people have a working smoke detector. These smoke detectors have a ten year lithium battery so you can’t take the battery out and put it in anything else. It’s going to stay in your house and they’re also going to be installed with the help of our local fire department and they will be installed in the correct places” explained American Red Cross Executive Director Marlene Henderson.

Their goal is to make it to as many homes as possible and they want to start with the neighborhoods that have high incidences of fires in the past and also make sure all of these home not only have a smoke detector but a fire escape plan established as well.

“Unfortunately Ohio is ranked #4 in the nation for fire deaths and a lot of people think it’s because of our three large metropolitan areas…Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati but it’s usually in rural communities” stated Henderson.

All hands on deck are needed in order to accomplish their goal so if you’re interested in saving lives log on to volunteerconnection.redcross.org to sign up