Volunteers needed to install smoke alarms May 1

Staff reports
·1 min read

MONROE COUNTY — Volunteers are needed to install smoke alarms for the American Red Cross on May 1.

As part of the organization's national "Sound the Alarm" effort, the Red Cross is installing free smoke alarms in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan homes. Families are selected based on need.

City of Monroe's Fire Commander Scott Smiley installs a smoke detector for a homeowner in a previous year. The American Red Cross seeks volunteers to install smoke alarms in Monroe County on May 1.
City of Monroe's Fire Commander Scott Smiley installs a smoke detector for a homeowner in a previous year. The American Red Cross seeks volunteers to install smoke alarms in Monroe County on May 1.

Alarms will be installed in Monroe on May 1. Volunteers must register in advance and should meet at 9:45 a.m. at the Frenchtown Fire Station, 2885 Nadeau Road. Installation will run until 2 p.m.

After a brief training session, volunteers will visit homes, where they will help attendees develop escape plans, provide safety information and assess smoke alarm needs in the home.

"Seven times a day, someone in the U.S. dies in a home fire," the American Red Cross said in a news release. "Having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of serious injury or death due to a home fire in half."

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The Red Cross launched its home fire campaign in 2014. Since then, the effort has installed more than 2.5 million smoke alarms in homes. The Red Cross estimates the campaign has saved more than 2,100 lives.

To register as a volunteer or to learn more about the program, visit SoundtheAlarm.org/noh.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Volunteers needed to install smoke alarms May 1