Lincoln Electric workers continue to make Euclid homes safer

Posted on September 25, 2019 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Company workers install smoke alarms for the fifth consecutive year

By Jim McIntyre, American Red Cross

More than 600 homes in the city of Euclid have been made safer in the past four years, thanks to the efforts of Lincoln Electric employees and the American Red Cross of Northeast Ohio. They have installed more than 1,700 free smoke alarms, provided free batteries for existing alarms and offered valuable fire safety information during an annual event that began in 2015.

During the most recent Sound the Alarm event on Saturday, Sept. 21, dozens of Lincoln Electric workers gathered in teams of four, going door-to-door, and installing 328 alarms in 123 homes.

“This is a way for our company to give back to the community where we work,” said Chris Mapes, chairman, president and CEO of Lincoln Electric. “Our employees are helping make the community safer with free smoke alarms and fire safety information provided by the Red Cross.”

Lincoln Electric Chairman, President and CEO Chris Mapes rallies employees prior to the 2019 Sound the Alarm event. Photo credit: Jim McIntyre/American Red Cross

Mike Parks, regional CEO of the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio, said, “Lincoln Electric has been a dedicated partner in our efforts to make the community more resilient and save lives, thanks to efforts such as this.”

Mike Parks, left, and Chris Mapes- Photo credit: Cal Pusateri/American Red Cross volunteer

As has been the case every year since Lincoln Electric staff began installing smoke alarms in 2015, Euclid Fire Chief Chris Haddock grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken to provide the employees who volunteered their time with a hearty lunch before they embarked on their lifesaving mission. Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail rallied the troops and thanked them for helping save lives.

Euclid Mayor Kirsten Holzheimer Gail and Tim O’Toole, Regional Disaster Officer, American Red Cross – Photo credit: Cal Pusateri/American Red Cross volunteer

Every day, seven people die in home fires, most in homes without working smoke alarms. But these lifesaving devices cut the risk of dying in a fire in half. That’s why the Red Cross launched the Home Fire Campaign, to prevent needless deaths and injuries. Through the campaign’s year-round Sound the Alarm events, like the one that took place in Euclid on Saturday, volunteers and partners install free smoke alarms and help families create home fire escape plans.

The national Red Cross effort is modeled largely after a program that began in the city of Cleveland in 1992. Since then, more than 200,000 smoke alarms have been installed in Greater Cleveland by the local Red Cross and its partners.

Residents who need smoke alarms in their homes can visit soundthealarm.org/neo or call 216-361-5535 to request a and installation appointment. To volunteer for a future Sound the Alarm event and to learn more about other volunteer opportunities with the Red Cross, visit redcross.org/volunteer.

To see more photos from the Lincoln Electric Sound the Alarm event, visit our photo album on Flickr.

Edited by Glenda Bogar/American Red Cross volunteer

Partners at Lincoln Electric, Euclid Fire Department Help Make Homes Safer

Posted on August 6, 2018 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Hundreds of smoke alarms installed during the company’s fourth annual effort

Madison Miller was wearing big rubber gloves – pink, her favorite color – as she helped her mommy clean the house, when she heard a knock on the door. Outside, four workers from Lincoln Electric asked if they could come in and help make her Euclid home safer. They were volunteering with the American Red Cross on Saturday, August 4th, as part of a Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event.

Madison’s mother, LaceJavone Hill was happy to receive the volunteers, who installed a free smoke alarm on each floor of her home. The volunteers also told Madison and her mom how to create an escape plan.

Madison Miller, 6 and her mom LaceJavone Hill

“What you’re really doing is providing an opportunity to save someone’s life,” said Chris Mapes, Chairman, President and CEO of Lincoln Electric, as he rallied the troops before they fanned out across the community. “You probably didn’t think you’d be spending your Saturday afternoon saving lives. But that’s what this is all about.”

Chris Mapes speaks with Lincoln Electric volunteers

It was the fourth year in a row that Lincoln Electric employees and interns volunteered to install smoke alarms and provide fire safety information to residents in the community the company calls home. This year, nearly 70 interns and employees volunteered for the Sound the Alarm event.

“The first year there were 30. The next, 40. Last year there were 50 Lincoln Electric volunteers. Today, 68 of you are here,” said Mike Parks, Regional CEO of the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio. “Over the last four years, we’ll have installed well over 1,250 alarms in the city of Euclid, making close to 450 homes safer. You are not only saving lives, you are making this community become more resilient.”

Before the smoke alarm installations took place, the volunteers gathered in the cafeteria at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School on Lakeshore Boulevard, where they were fed pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken, barbecued in the parking lot by Euclid Fire Chief Chris Haddock, who expressed his appreciation for the work that was about to take place.

“As the fire department, on a daily basis throughout the year we install smoke alarms,” said the chief. “But you guys will do more today than we will do all year long. So you’re really making a difference.”

Volunteer Justin Grabinski tests the alarm he installed in a Euclid home

By the end of the event, 373 smoke alarms had been installed, making 141 homes safer —including young Madison’s home. And while the alarms should be tested every month, they are designed to last 10 years without a battery change.

Residents throughout Northeast Ohio can request smoke alarms by visiting soundthealarm.org/neo. And those interested in helping make homes safer, like the Lincoln Electric employees did last Saturday, can apply to become a Red Cross volunteer by visiting redcross.org/neo, and clicking the volunteer tab.

See our photo album of the Lincoln Electric Sound the Alarm event on Flicker. The pre-event “pep rally,” featuring the comments of Chris Mapes, Mike Parks, Chief Haddock, Euclid Mayor Kirsten Gail, and Red Cross Regional Disaster Program Officer Tim O’Toole were streamed live on our Facebook page, where it may still be viewed .

Family Feels Safer After Fleeing Puerto Rico

Posted on May 11, 2018 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Smoke Alarms Give Mom and Dad Piece of Mind

By Jim McIntyre, American Red Cross

Neysha Santiago is back at work. Her broken ankle has healed, after she slipped on Northeast Ohio ice this winter.

“We don’t have ice in Puerto Rico!”

Neysha arrived in Cleveland with her husband Brian and their six-year old son last fall, after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. “We lost everything,” she said, while Red Cross workers installed smoke alarms in her new home in Cleveland.

A cousin, Randy Rivera, told the family to call the Red Cross for smoke alarms.

Cousin Randy also brought the newly-settled family to his church, Smyrna Christian and Missionary Alliance, where they met Gabe Bruno, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Lincoln Electric.

He found Neysha and Brian jobs.

“I thought it would be a great opportunity to meet a couple of needs,” Bruno said. “They needed employment and we needed workers in our electronics factory.”

Coincidentally, the Chairman and CEO of Lincoln Electric, Chris Mapes, is the current Chairman of the Red Cross Greater Cleveland Chapter Board of Directors.

Neysha Santiago, Katherine Ramos and her son Gadielys

Neysha was nursing her broken ankle, sitting at the kitchen table with her sister-in-law Katherine and her baby, dinner simmering on the stove, when Red Cross workers installed a smoke alarm on each level of her home in March. They also showed her how to develop an escape plan for her family.

She said the alarms make her feel safer.

Kelly Fraser of AmeriCorps helps Neysha Santiago create an escape plan for her home

Red Cross workers and volunteers from various fire departments, community groups, and corporate partners have been installing smoke alarms in homes across the country since April 28, when the Sound the Alarm campaign began. Since then, more than 1,300 alarms have been installed in more than 450 homes in Cleveland, Akron and Maple Heights.

The three-week campaign ends locally on Saturday, when volunteers will install smoke alarms and offer fire safety information to residents in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood. But residents can still request smoke alarms, and have them installed by the Red Cross and its partners all year long by visiting redcross.org/neo.

Sounding the Alarm in Euclid

Posted on August 8, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Partnership with Lincoln Electric and Euclid Fire Department Helps Save Lives

More than 50 employees, trainees and interns from Lincoln Electric fanned out in the shadow of the firm’s giant windmill in Euclid on Saturday to help make residents safer. They were taking part in a home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event, for the third year in a row.

“It’s a way for our company and our employees to give back to the community,” said Chris Mapes, Lincoln Electric CEO. “Our goal is to go out and meet the community and assist them in having a safer home environment, where we can provide them with smoke alarms that have been provided to us by the American Red Cross and make this a safer community.”

Lincoln Electric has been headquartered in Euclid for more than 122 years.

As in the previous two years, the volunteers were first treated to lunch prepared by Chief Chris Haddock and other members of the Euclid Fire Department, long-time partners in our free smoke alarm installation program. The volunteers then received instructions for sharing fire safety information with residents, and for the proper installation of smoke alarms.

Nearly 130 homes were made safer, and almost 370 smoke alarms were installed on several streets in Euclid.

“I’m glad you guys are doing it,” said resident Steve Washington. As the volunteers installed new alarms with 10-year lithium batteries in his home, he said, “If you got children, even pets, if you sleep heavy you’ll hear that thing. It’ll wake you up in a minute. You never know when a fire’s gonna start.”

The home of Denise Miller is once again well protected, as the eight older smoke alarms in her home were replaced with new alarms. “It’s nice to update them. I don’t know how long they’ve actually been in our home,” she said of the old alarms. “My husband had them put up when the kids were little.”

Like many people, Denise wasn’t aware that the sensors that detect smoke from a fire can fail after ten years. “I had no idea. I figured as long as the batteries were chirping, and you pressed the button on occasion, you were good.”

Mike Parks, CEO of the Red Cross Northeast Ohio Region, called the partnership with Lincoln Electric, “One of the best corporate partnerships we have. We have the opportunity to save lives, make homes safer, and make the community more resilient.”

For more pictures from the event, visit our photo album on Flickr here.

Saturday’s smoke alarm installations in Euclid preceded a nationwide effort this fall to install 100,000 smoke alarms in 40 cities across the country. The initiative is called Sound the Alarm. Save a Life. You can join the American Red Cross to Sound the Alarm about home fire safety and help save lives by learning more at soundthealarm.org/neo.

Operation Save-A-Life Volunteers Help Protect Euclid Residents From Home Fires

Posted on August 24, 2015 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

A neighborhood in Euclid is measurably safer today, after volunteers from the American Red Cross Greater Cleveland Chapter teamed up with employees from Lincoln Electric and the Euclid Fire Department to educate, check smoke alarms, replace old batteries, and install new alarms where needed.

It was the largest one-day installation event in the history of the Northeast Ohio Region.

Part of the Red Cross Operation Save-A-Life program, the Euclid Fire Safety Walk targeted homes on five streets west and north of Euclid High School on E. 222nd Street. 10 teams of volunteers fanned out across the neighborhood to go door-to-door, sharing fire safety information with nearly 700 households.

The enthusiastic volunteers were briefed by John Gareis, Regional Training Coordinator for the Northeast Ohio region of the Red Cross. Leading the dozens of volunteers from Lincoln Electric was CEO, Chris Mapes, who offered a prayer prior to the start of the walk, as volunteers gathered at the Euclid Fire Department. Team leaders were chosen, team members were assigned, and the volunteers were dispatched, many working for several hours to make sure every house in the neighborhood was covered.

“Because smoke alarms cut the risk of death from fire in half, the efforts of the volunteers will help prevent human suffering,” according to Mike Parks, CEO of the Northeast Ohio Region. Mike also joined volunteers, asking residents to take two simple steps that can save lives: check their existing smoke alarms and practice fire drills with their families.

Chris and Mike both worked diligently to determine fire safety needs and install smoke alarms when needed. After seeing a group of children playing on Westport Ave., Chris traveled to the nearest Dairy Queen and bought Dilly Bars, taking them back to the kids who were grateful for the cool treats on a warm, sunny summer day.

Fire experts agree that people may have as little as two minutes to escape a burning home before it’s too late. But a recent national survey shows more than 60% of Americans mistakenly believe they have five minutes or more to get out of a burning home. And nearly 20% think they have at least 10 minutes to escape. The poll also shows fewer than one in five families with children have actually practiced a home fire drill, and that nearly 70% of parents think their children would know what to do or how to escape a burning home with little help. Those are some of the potentially deadly myths that were dispelled during the Fire Safety Walk.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

By the end of the day, 354 new smoke alarms had been installed, and many more existing alarms had fresh batteries, thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of the volunteers from the Red Cross and Lincoln Electric.

The goal for fiscal year 2016 is to install 10,000 smoke detectors in the 22 county Northeast Ohio region, and we’re right on target: by the end of September (the end of the first quarter of FY ’16) 2,585 smoke alarms had been installed.

If you would like to volunteer, or learn more about volunteer opportunities, visit www.redcross.org/volunteer.

NOHredcross

American Red Cross of Northern Ohio Region

Tag Archives: Lincoln Electric