Red Cross Teams Up with Local Fire Departments for Sound the Alarm Campaign

ZANESVILLE, OH – The Red Cross is partnering up with local Fire Departments to install smoke detectors this week.

As a part of their Sound the Alarm Campaign, members of the Red Cross will be joined by members of the Washington Township Fire Department on Friday as they go door to door and install smoke detectors.

Doug Marston, the Community Volunteer Leader with the Red Cross East Central Ohio Chapter, says this campaign serves as a reminder to residents to not only check on the batteries in your smoke detector but also to double check that it’s still safe to use.

“Most people are only partially informed about smoke alarms, smoke alarms are more than just the stupid sound that goes when we’re cooking and stuff.” Marston said. “There’s the battery or the hardwire part of it, people think if they put a battery in it, that the alarm’s going to work, not the case. There’s a chemical inside that’ll last about 10 years that dies out in 10 years, so regardless if you have a hardwired alarm or you have a battery in it, it may not work when you need it to work.”

Josh Snouffer, the Assistant Fire Chief with Washington Township, says safety and prevention are the biggest things for fire fighters.

He says being able to provide residents with as much notice as they can before disaster strikes is what makes this partnership so important.

“It just gives our residents a little heads up as to when there might be an emergency and a chance to save a life.” Snouffer said.

If you are interested in getting a smoke detector installed in your home, you can call 1-844-207-4509.