It was hot.  It was Friday the 13th.  But it didn’t stop more than 40 interns from Ernst and Young in Cleveland from making dozens of homes in the city safer, by installing smoke alarms and offering residents fire safety information.

They were helping the American Red Cross by taking part in a Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event.

EY intern Nigel Williams of Marquette University installs a smoke alarm.

“When I learned about Sound the Alarm, and how the Red Cross makes so many homes safer by installing smoke alarms, I knew it would be a worthwhile project for our interns,” said Nick McCauley, Senior Manager, Assurance at EY and  a member of the board of directors for the Greater Cleveland chapter of the Red Cross.  “They loved being able to make a difference in so many people’s lives.”

The interns study at schools near, like Kent State University, and far, like Marquette University in Milwaukee.  They are working this summer at the EY office in downtown Cleveland.  But on Friday, July 13, 2018, they left the office and entered 77 homes in an east side neighborhood,  installing a total of 185 smoke alarms.

EY Interns Nadia Dansani of Kent State University and Katherine Butler of the University of Cincinnati in the home of Danita Beamon Battle of Cleveland.

If you have an interest in helping make homes safer in vulnerable communities, become a Red Cross volunteer.  If you need smoke alarms in your home, visit soundthealarm.org/neo. To view more photos from the EY Sound the Alarm event, visit our photo album here.