Red Cross, Partners Help Euclid Residents Prepare for and Prevent Home Fires

Posted on August 9, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Lincoln Electric Volunteers, Euclid Fire Department Personnel Participate in Fire Safety Walk

Nearly 100 homes in Euclid now have working smoke alarms, following one of the largest Fire Safety Walks ever held in Northeast Ohio. 283 smoke alarms were installed on Saturday, August 6, 2016, with the enthusiastic help of volunteers from Lincoln Electric and our partners at the Euclid Fire Department.

“We were able to get into 95 homes and install 283 alarms. That is approximately 3 per home,” said John Gareis, Regional Manager of Preparedness and Community Planning in Northeast Ohio.

Combined with a similar effort last summer involving Lincoln Electric volunteers and the Euclid Fire Department, almost 650 smoke alarms have been installed in that Euclid neighborhood as part of Operation Save-A-Life, the American Red Cross initiative in Northeast Ohio to reduce the number of casualties in home fires by 25%. John Gareis continued, “While the total number of alarms is less than last summer, our targeted area has far fewer homes in them – making this install more efficient overall!”

As was the case last summer, Lincoln Electric CEO Chris Mapes worked alongside employees to install the smoke alarms, and to provide residents with valuable fire safety information. And Mike Parks, Regional CEO of the Red Cross in Northeast Ohio contributed to the effort, along with Red Cross volunteers and staff.

Mike Parks, Chris Mapes and John Gareis

“The partnership between Lincoln Electric, Euclid Fire, and the American Red Cross is a winner to be sure and a model for others, not only in the Region but throughout the country,” Parks said. “I know the event had an extremely positive impact, and will help prevent the loss of life due to home fires.”

Last year, more than 100 lives across the country were saved after smoke alarms were installed by the Red Cross and our partners.

Home fires remain the biggest disaster threat to individuals and families in the United States. There are three home fires, on average, in Northeast Ohio every night. Operation Save-A-Life, part of the national Red Cross Home Fire Campaign is in direct response to that dire threat, with the Red Cross committing to install 2.5 million free smoke alarms in neighborhoods at high risk for fires, and to educate those residents about fire prevention and preparedness.

More than 12,500 smoke alarms were installed in homes in Northeast Ohio last year.

If you would like a free fire safety inspection of your home, and free installation of smoke alarms, log onto redcross.org/neoosal. You can also visit redcross.org/homefires to find out more about how to protect you and your family from fire. You can also become a Red Cross volunteer. And you can help by donating to Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Donations to Disaster Relief will be used to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.

Click on the photo to see a gallery of pictures taken during the Euclid Fire Safety Walk.

Photo credit: Cal Pusateri, American Red Cross Communications Volunteer

Akron Mayor Helps Launch Operation Save-A-Life Partnership

Posted on April 22, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

One more family in Akron is now better protected from the dangers of a home fire.

Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and several members of the Akron Fire Department were joined by Rachel D’Attoma, Executive Director of the Summit, Portage and Medina Counties Chapter of the American Red Cross on Thursday, April 21st to install smoke alarms in the home of Amy Villagomez and her family.

The installation marked the official start of Operation Save-A-Life, a new partnership between the Red Cross and the Akron Fire Department, designed to offer Akron residents free smoke alarms and valuable fire safety information. Interested residents are encouraged to call the Red Cross Smoke Alarm Hotline at 330-535-2030.

The Villagomez family was grateful for the new smoke alarms. The alarms that had been previously installed in their home expired in 2009.

“I had no idea smoke alarms have an expiration date,” said Amy Villagomez, who lives in the home with husband Steve and their two children.

Smoke alarms have a 10 year lifespan.

Mayor Horrigan installed two smoke alarms in the Villagomez home. One, supplied by the Akron Fire Department, is designed for hearing impaired residents. It was installed on a wall in the bedroom of one of the children, who has a hearing impairment. The alarm includes a strobe light when activated.

The mayor also installed a more traditional smoke alarm in a hallway of the home, supplied by the Red Cross. The alarm has a lithium battery designed to last 10 years.

“The importance of having smoke detectors in all of our residents’ homes is vital to safety,” said mayor Horrigan, who was joined by Marilyn Keith, President of Akron City Council and Ward 8 representative. The Villagomez family lives in Ward 8.

Prior to the smoke alarm installations, Mrs. Villagomez was given important fire safety information and assistance in designing a fire escape plan.

“A recent Red Cross study found that many people think they have up to 10 minutes to escape from a burning home,” according to Rachel. “It is closer to two minutes. Smoke alarms save lives.”

Operation Save-A-Life is part of the Red Cross Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, designed to reduce the number of fatalities from home fires by 25% in a five-year time span. Residents in other parts of Northeast Ohio can learn how to obtain free smoke alarms in their counties by logging onto redcross.org/neoosal.

Photo credits: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross, and Bruce Ford/ City of Akron (with permission)

Akron Fire Fatalities Highlight the Need for Smoke Alarms

Posted on April 18, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

A smoke alarm being installed in an Akron home/Photo credit: Gwen Bochmann/ Red Cross Volunteer

Two people died in Akron early Monday morning in a fire on Fultz Street, and firefighters say there were no working smoke alarms in the home.

The Red Cross and the Akron Fire Department earlier this month announced an initiative meant to prevent home fire fatalities, by offering Akron residents free smoke alarms. Firefighters will install the alarms, and provide residents valuable fire safety information, including how to develop a fire escape plan.

“We are proud to partner with the city to promote this initiative,” said Rachel D’Attoma, Executive Director of the Summit, Portage, and Medina Counties Chapter. “A recent Red Cross study found that many people think that you have up to 10 minutes to exit a burning home. It is closer to two minutes. Smoke alarms can help save lives.”

“The importance of having smoke detectors in all of our residents’ homes is vital to safety,” said City of Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan. The Mayor will assist with this initiative by installing a smoke alarm in the home of an Akron family this week.

“Our goal is to save lives in our community,” said Chief Edward Hiltbrand of the Akron Fire Department. “We must respond by making our residents safer, especially in susceptible communities.”

Akron residents are encouraged to call the Red Cross smoke alarm hotline at 330-535-2030 to make an appointment for a free home fire safety inspection, free smoke alarms, and free installation.

Residents throughout Northeast Ohio can obtain more information about Operation Save-A-Life, the Red Cross fire preparedness campaign, at redcross.org/neoosal.

Prevent and Alleviate: Providing Fire Safety Education to Everyone

Posted on March 16, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

You may think that preventing and alleviating human suffering in the face of emergencies – the two actions our mission charges us to do – is a tall order.

With over 4.5 million residents to educate and assist, it can be a little overwhelming.

And yet, when eating an elephant – take one bite at a time.

The first bite: teaching our young community members more about how to keep themselves (and their families) safe before, during and following a disaster.

We are proud to announce that we have hit our annual goal by teaching the pillowcase project, sponsored by Disney, to 2,892 local school-aged children!

The pillowcase project teaches kids about disasters that can happen here in Northeast Ohio, and what they and their families can do to prepare for and respond during an event. Home fire education is the most prevalent piece of this program, as we respond to an average of three home fires across Northeast Ohio each night.

During the program kids are taught about smoke alarms, what to do when a smoke alarm sounds, knowing exit strategies for each room, creating a family meeting spot and so much more.

But this education isn’t just for the children of our community.

We are dedicated to sharing these safety tips with everyone. That’s the second bite of the elephant.

Through Operation Save-A-Life we are helping families learn more about fire safety as well as providing the tools necessary to put that education into practice, should the time come.

As of March, 2016, we have installed over 8,844 smoke alarms in homes throughout Northeast Ohio.

That’s just 1,156 off from the stretch goal we gave ourselves in June, 2015. Our region currently leads the nation in number of smoke alarms installed.

We are very proud of what we have accomplished. And our dedicated work and planning is paying off. We see it in the success stories of families like this one from last summer, and this one from December.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to the Red Cross workforce who made those numbers happen. Thank you to those who continue to educate, install and provide hope to families and individuals in each of the communities that we serve.

You can eat an elephant – one bite at a time.

Thank you!!

Update: Kincaids Surpass 1,100 Smoke Alarms Installed

Posted on February 19, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Earlene and Dick Kincaid with Heidi, their rescue dog Photo credit: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross

Tuscarawas County Couple Help Create Safer Neighborhoods

Dick and Earlene Kincaid have been American Red Cross volunteers for nearly eight years. They have responded to hurricanes, tornadoes and floods in Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Alabama as members of the Red Cross National Disaster Action Team, providing hot meals and comfort to thousands of people made suddenly homeless by extreme weather. Their most recent deployment was to Flint, Michigan in response to the water crisis there.

But the work they’ve done in their own backyard has made the biggest impact in the lives of their neighbors.

The Kincaids have installed more than 1,100 smoke alarms in homes in the Stark County and Muskingum Lakes Chapter since October 2015. In a previous article, posted last December, it was noted that they had installed 750 alarms in fewer than three months. With more than 1,100 installations now to their credit, Dick and Earlene installed more than half the total annual number of smoke alarms for the entire Chapter, in fewer than six months!

Dick wields the drill and installs the alarms while Earlene provides valuable fire safety information to residents. She said, “Most of these people don’t have working smoke alarms, or they don’t have any at all.” The Kincaids work mostly on weekends, when people are more likely to be home. They spend about 15 minutes in each home, installing alarms on each floor. And they average about 100 installations a week.

Not bad for a couple who survived a motorcycle crash in 2007.

“I flew like a bird, but my landing sucked,” Dick says with a grin. Earlene says she rolled better, suffering only a broken shoulder and some scrapes. Dick says he spent 18 days at the Cleveland Clinic, undergoing 5 surgeries to save his leg, and spent another 9 months in a hospital bed in the living room of their home in Magnolia, Ohio.

Dick retired from Timken as a steelworker that same year. Once he got back on his feet, Dick and Earlene Kincaid began their careers as Red Cross volunteers, responding to national disasters and local home fires. But their Operation Save-A-Life efforts are taking up most of their volunteer time now.

“We’ve had people who have had three little kids in a trailer home, and no smoke alarms. They burn so fast,” Dick says. “If we can save any lives at all, that’s good enough.”

Carbon Monoxide Kills, Alarms Save Lives

Posted on February 17, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Photo credit: Cal Pusateri/American Red Cross Volunteer

Winter has finally decided to show up. With it has come deep snow in most areas of our region, and cold temperatures.

Given the increase in the number of carbon monoxide emergencies during cold snaps (like in this story), we want to remind you to exercise caution when heating your home.

Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless and silent killer that, nationally, claims hundreds of lives each year. A threat year round, carbon monoxide poisoning tends to increase when storms and power outages force people to turn to unsafe alternative heat sources such as fuel-burning appliances, gas generators, camp stoves and charcoal grills and use them in confined spaces.

The best way to keep your family safe during this time is to install carbon monoxide alarms and learn how to reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“Every home should have at least one carbon monoxide alarm in addition to their smoke alarms,” said Tim O’Toole, Regional Disaster Officer of the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio. “If there is only one carbon monoxide detector, it should be in or near sleeping areas. Both carbon monoxide and smoke alarms are relatively inexpensive and easy-to-maintain devices that have been proven to save lives. There are even models that feature a combined smoke and carbon monoxide alarm.”

Follow these safety recommendations:

Furnaces and other natural gas fired appliances should be serviced once a year.
Install carbon monoxide alarms in central locations on every level of your home and outside sleeping areas (avoid corners where air does not circulate). Test the alarm every month.
Have heating systems (including chimneys and vents) inspected and serviced annually, checking for blockages, corrosion, and partial and complete disconnections.
Never use a generator, grill or camp stove inside a home, garage or basement.
Do not use gas appliances such as ranges, ovens or clothes dryers to heat your home.
Know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning: headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness, and confusion. If you suspect carbon monoxide poisoning, move quickly to a fresh air location, and then call 9-1-1.
Treat the alarm signal as a real emergency each time. If the alarm sounds and you are not experiencing any symptoms described above, press the reset button. If the alarm continues to sound, call the fire department.

Download the Red Cross First Aid App at redcross.org/apps to get access to life-saving information on what to do for common, everyday first aid emergencies.

For more Red Cross fire safety and preparedness information, visit redcross.org/homefires.

Who Bought the Hot Dogs?

Posted on January 20, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Red Cross Volunteers Treated to Lunch By Anonymous Diner

Responding to a call for action from the Red Cross to support the Martin Luther King Day of Service, more than a dozen volunteers joined Red Cross staff members from the Lake to River Chapter to offer residents of Warren, Niles and Girard fire safety tips and free smoke alarm installations.

Some of those volunteers were thanked in an unexpected, but welcome, way.

They began their day by receiving instructions from Disaster Program Manager, Scott Meeker and Disaster Program Specialist, Kristen Gallagher, and then headed out into the wintry Northeast Ohio weather, braving blowing snow and single-digit temperatures.

Several teams were formed, each visiting the homes of residents who registered with the Red Cross for free fire safety instruction and free smoke alarm installation.

Photo Credit: Cal Pusateri/American Red Cross Volunteer

During their lunch break, three volunteers ate at the Jib Jab Hot Dog Shoppe in Girard.

“They were all wearing Red Cross vests and were talking about the alarms they had installed that morning,” said Karen Conklin, Executive Director of the Red Cross Lake to River Chapter. “When they went to pay the bill, a good Samaritan had already paid it. How cool is that?”

The volunteers, from Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and Christ Episcopal Church, were joined by Lt. Chuck Eggleston of the Warren Fire Department during the Day of Service in honor of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. They installed 95 smoke alarms in 40 homes, making each neighborhood they entered safer.

If you live in Northeast Ohio, and would like a free fire safety inspection and free smoke alarms installed in your home, visit redcross.org/neoosal.

Operation Save-A-Life Makes Neighborhoods in Lorain, Sandusky Safer

Posted on October 21, 2015 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

More than 100 Homes Now Outfitted with New Smoke Alarms

The American Red Cross effort to reduce the number of deaths from home fires continues in Northeast Ohio and across the country.

Locally, 316 smoke alarms were installed in a total of 102 homes on Saturday, October 17, as the result of Fire Safety Walks in Lorain and Sandusky. Dedicated Red Cross staff members and volunteers were assisted by several partners, walking door-to-door installing the free alarms and offering residents vital fire safety information.

“We are trying to prevent home fires and provide fire safety tips,” said lead Red Cross volunteer Lora Taylor. “Our goal is to install 200 smoke alarms today, with the help of the Ohio Army National Guard.”

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Photo credit: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross

That goal was surpassed, thanks largely to the efforts of a dozen volunteers from the 837th Combat Engineers at the Lorain Readiness Center. They were teamed with Red Cross staff and volunteers, and installed a total of 227 smoke alarms in 76 homes. They replaced several old alarms, and in some cases, installed alarms in homes for the first time.

“They installed alarms in one home where there were none before we arrived. Four children lived in that home,” according to Katie-Myers Griffith, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Lake Erie/Heartland Chapter. “In another home, they installed alarms where a non-English speaking family tried their best to communicate their thankfulness. It was an experience to watch the volunteers realize that this program saves lives, and to hear them talk about it.”

Red Cross volunteer Angel Paul, working her first Fire Safety Walk, said “We put smoke alarms in the home of a 93-year old woman who had tears in her eyes as she thanked the soldiers. She was touched by their selflessness.”

Angel said another home was still being repaired due to a previous fire, and the homeowner still hadn’t gotten around to installing new smoke alarms.

At the same time, Red Cross volunteers in Sandusky installed 88 alarms in 26 homes, with the help of volunteers from the Sandusky Police and Fire Departments and the Home Depot.

Operation Save-A-Life is part of the American Red Cross Home Fire Prevention Campaign. The goal is to reduce the number of deaths due to home fires by 25% over a five year period.

Installing smoke alarms is just the first step toward protecting your home from fire. Learn more about preparing your family and preventing home fires here.

NOHredcross

American Red Cross of Northern Ohio Region

Category Archives: Smoke Alarms