Sound The Alarm Fire Detector Installation Day

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – A Red Cross campaign is taking place in more than 100 communities across the country including the Zanesville area.

The Sound the Alarm event is a national program where volunteers work alongside local fire departments and other local groups to install free smoke alarms and educate the community about fire safety and prevention. Local volunteers, including the Zane State College Criminal Justice program students, went door to door in neighborhoods providing the smoke alarms and installations. The goal is to install 150 smoke alarms, around 3 to 5 in each home.

“We’ll kind of assess the situation, I mean you’ll be surprised how many people don’t have smoke alarms, and if they do, are the batteries good. Are they plugged in. So we install 10 year battery alarm that does not need to be changed. So we’ll put as many in as we think is safe for the house,” said Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Southeast Ohio, Matthew Riddle.

The Red Cross’ mission is to prevent needless tragedies such as house fires, which makes occasions like the Sound the Alarm event such an important cause.

“As a leader in the community, as the Red Cross, it’s our job to educate and prepare. And house fires happen all the time, every night. You only have two minutes to get out of your house, smoke alarms saves lives,” Riddle added.

More than 500 lives have been saved through the Sound the Alarm program.