FIRE SAFETY: American Red Cross seeks volunteers for fire campaign

• Mari-Alice Jasper Fort Campbell Courier

Dozens of American Red Cross volunteers will saturate Clarksville neighborhoods Oct. 14 to test, replace and install free smoke detectors as part of the national Home Fire Campaign.

The Tennessee River Chapter of the American Red Cross services 11 counties in Middle Tennessee. The year-round Home Fire Campaign began in 2014. These smoke detector events are scheduled about every six months. In April 2017, the chapter installed more than 100 smoke detectors in one day.

This year the team will focus on neighborhoods near Madison Street, Clarksville.

Tere Kangas, disaster relief team captain for the Tennessee River Chapter, said education and preparation are the main goals of the campaign.

“First we ask people to check their smoke alarms and see if they are working properly,” Kangas said. “We also ask the Family to practice fire drills at home. When a fire breaks out you have about two minutes to get out of your house. It is very important to have at least two fire escapes planned.”

Battery operated smoke detectors should be replaced every decade, whereas hardwired smoke detectors should be replaced every six years. Through the campaign, members of the local chapter are able to install new Kidde 10-year smoke detectors for many people. The new smoke detectors are operated by ion batteries which are enclosed in the smoke detector. They should be tested once a year.

“Typically we only think of a smoke detector when a fire happens to us or it happens to someone we know,” Kangas sad. “We need to think about it more often.”

Many of the homes the chapter has visited in the past have not had any smoke detectors installed, Kangas said. Nearly 5 million households nationwide do not have any smoke alarms, according to the latest report conducted by the National Fire Prevention Association.

This year, the Home Fire Campaign will install its 1 millionth smoke detector. Through this campaign 268 lives have been saved and 400,143 homes have been made safer, according to the American Red Cross.

“Locally we know that we’ve saved several lives,” Kangas said. “People have come back and told us they were able to survive a house fire because of the smoke detectors that we installed. We know this program works. It’s an awesome program.”

While the volunteers are engaging with the community, they also take the opportunity to educate others on the importance of preparing for emergencies.

“Always get prepared,” Kangas said. “Know those escape plans and check your smoke detectors.”

Citizens not serviced by the Tennessee River Chapter can receive smoke detector support by calling their local chapter of the American Red Cross.

To volunteer with the chapter, participants must be at least 18 years old. They do not have to be American Red Cross volunteers. Everyone is welcome to help with the campaign, regardless of their limitations, Kangas said.

“We have some people driving around to deliver water and smoke detectors to the other volunteers,” she said. “Even if you can’t walk long distances, climb stairs or install smoke detectors, you can still be involved. There’s a lot of ways to help with this campaign that aren’t physical.”

Kangas said the chapter is always in need of volunteers.

“The more volunteers that we have, the more homes we can get into, the more people we can help,” she said.

Source: fortcampbell.courier.com