One thing we have learned from this past year's onslaught of disasters is the importance of preparing for any type of emergency or disaster — both natural and man-made. This is because disasters can strike suddenly, at anytime and anywhere. It is important to take action now to keep your family safe and the American Red Cross recommends taking these three steps to become better prepared.
While the Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters each year, the vast majority are home fires. Furthermore, every day seven people die in home fires, most in homes that lack properly working smoke alarms. Because of this, in 2014, the Red Cross launched their Home Fire Campaign with a goal of reducing home fire-related deaths and injuries in the U.S. by 25% by the year 2020. To date, the Red Cross has installed more than 1 million free smoke alarms in homes throughout the country—but, they have no plans of slowing down. In fact, this spring, Red Cross volunteers plan to Sound the Alarm in communities throughout the Los Angeles area, including right here in our neighborhood.
At Sound the Alarm events, Red Cross volunteers, along with fire departments and other partners, will canvass neighborhoods, install free smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms, and provide fire prevention and safety education to local residents.
To learn more about how to prepare for any type of emergency or disaster, please visit PrepareSoCal.org. To request a free smoke alarm or, to register to volunteer at an upcoming Sound the Alarm home fire safety event, go to SoundtheAlarm.org/LosAngeles.
Red Cross volunteers install a free smoke alarm and teach life-saving home fire safety information to a Los Angeles area resident at a recent Sound the Alarm event.