Another life saved in Northern Ohio, after a smoke alarm alerts Akron man

Posted on June 30, 2022 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Shawn Spaulding had just returned to his home in Akron on Saturday, April 30^th, after a long day of work. The private security guard was unwinding on his living room couch when the smoke alarm in the next room sounded. Fire had erupted behind a wall on the second floor of his home, and the smoke was starting to fill the entire house.

“I knew it was a situation beyond my control,” he said just a few days after the incident. He called 911 and evacuated the home.

Akron firefighters responded within minutes and were able to save the home, but not before significant damage had been done. Despite the damage, Shawn’s most treasured possessions were spared.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I lost my military records and piano.”

Children’s toys filled a pack n’ play in the dining room of the home, and more toys were seen on the front porch. They belong to Shawn’s 3-year old granddaughter Jemeara, who lives with her grandfather but was under someone else’s care and was not home the night of the fire.

The smoke alarm that alerted Shawn to the fire had been installed about a year earlier by Akron firefighters, through a partnership with the Red Cross. The two firefighters who installed the alarm, Lieutenant Joe Falkenstein and firefighter Steve Dort returned to the home to check on Mr. Spaulding, who is now among 1,331people whose lives have been saved since 2014 as a result of the American Red Cross home fire campaign.

Akron firefighter Steve Dort, left, Shawn Spaulding and fire Lt.. Joe Falkenstein

“It saves lives,” Shawn said of the smoke alarm program. “It really does.”

To request a smoke alarm in the Akron area, residents can call 330-535-2030. Elsewhere throughout Northern Ohio, you can visit soundthealarm.org/noh to learn how to request smoke alarms for your home.

Don’t forget to TURN and TEST this weekend

Posted on November 5, 2021 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

This Sunday marks the end of Daylight Saving Time for 2021, meaning we will “fall back” one hour. As you turn back your clocks this weekend, the American Red Cross asks everyone to also test their smoke alarms.

Home fires are the nation’s most frequent disaster and tragically take seven lives every day in this country. Individuals may have as little as two minutes to escape a burning home before it’s too late. An early warning from a working smoke alarm, plus a fire escape plan that has been practiced regularly, can save lives.

“It’s critical to take action now to be as safe as possible as the threat of home fires increases with the holidays and cooler weather,” said Mike Parks, Regional CEO, American Red Cross of Northern Ohio. “In fiscal year 2021, Red Cross volunteers in our region responded to more than 1,100 home fires. The good news is that you can take a few simple steps this weekend to help protect your loved ones.”

Follow these simple tests to get your home ready:

Test all existing smoke alarms, and make a plan to check them monthly.
Check to make sure you have smoke alarms installed on every level of your home, including inside and outside of bedrooms and sleeping areas.
Replace any smoke alarms that are 10 years old or older. Components such as sensors can become less sensitive over time. Follow your alarm’s manufacturer instructions.
Practice your two-minute home fire escape plan. Make sure everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes. Include at least two ways to get out of every room and select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone can meet.

Red Cross Home Fire Campaign

Since October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign with community partners has saved at least 1,048 lives by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing more than 2.2 million free smoke alarms in high-risk homes across the country.

For more information, including safety tips and free resources, visit redcross.org/homefires or download the free Red Cross Emergency app by searching for ‘American Red Cross’ in app stores.

Another Northern Ohio life saved thanks to volunteers

Posted on May 17, 2021 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Arlington, Ohio woman credits fire safety information for helping her escape in April

By Jim McIntyre, American Red Cross

Ramona Martin of Arlington in North Central Ohio safely escaped her home after fire broke out in the early morning hours of April 14, 2021. She was awakened after smoke alarms installed in 2018 by Red Cross volunteers Steve and Valerie Mahler of Findlay sounded.

Ramona Martin, left, with Red Cross volunteers Stephan and Valerie Mahler, standing in front of Ms. Martin’s fire-damaged home in Arlington, Ohio

The installation was part of the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which was launched in October 2014. Since then, more than 1,000 lives have been saved following the efforts of volunteers and partners.

“I never thought it would happen to me,” said Ms. Martin. She credits the fire safety information she received from Steve and Valerie when they installed her smoke alarms for giving her the knowledge she needed to safely escape. “You have to have an escape plan.” She said she had only about two minutes to get out.

“When we started installing smoke alarms, I contacted my neighbors, family members, people from church, everyone I know,” said Steve.

See additional photos here. Watch Steve interview Ramona here.

Residents can visit SoundtheAlarm.org/noh to request a virtual education session on home fire safety and to request smoke alarm installations. While the Red Cross has postponed in-home visits due to COVID-19 concerns, we will contact residents to schedule an appointment when we resume our in-home visits or if we are able to offer in-home installations with local fire departments.

Spring ahead with smoke alarm checks and escape plan

Posted on March 12, 2021 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

By Eilene E. Guy, American Red Cross volunteer

Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday, and we all know what that means: Turn the clocks ahead one hour and check every smoke alarm in the house.

That first activity isn’t necessarily fun. Who wants to lose an hour of sleep?

But the second – checking your smoke alarms – is vital! It’s a key part of keeping your family safe from one of the most common disasters, a home fire. In fact, in a typical year, the death toll from home fires is higher than the toll from all natural disasters combined.

Most of us don’t realize we have just two minutes to escape a home fire. That’s why the American Red Cross is preparing families to act quickly through our annual Home Fire Campaign.

If you think home fires only happen to “somebody else,” think again.

“In just one year, the Red Cross was called to help nearly 4,300 people who were driven from their homes by fires in northern Ohio,” said Tim O’Toole, who heads up disaster response for the Red Cross in over 31 northern Ohio counties. And that doesn’t count those who didn’t need Red Cross assistance.

You can help keep your family safe by taking two simple steps:

Think through and practice a two-minute home escape plan with your family. (Don’t forget your pets!)
Test your smoke alarms every month. (No, it’s not enough to test them a couple of times a year.)

To create a worthwhile home fire escape plan, include at least two ways to get out of every room (doors, windows) and then practice it until every member of your family, old and young, can do it in two minutes or less. Teach children what a smoke alarm sounds like and what to do in an emergency. (Don’t hide! And don’t assume it’s a false alarm.)

Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half.

In addition to testing all alarms monthly, change the batteries once a year (if your models use batteries). Check the date on the alarms; if they’re more than 10 years old, they need to be replaced as the sensors get less sensitive over time.

In 2014, the Red Cross began its Home Fire Campaign to join with fire departments and other safety-minded organizations across the country to cut fire-related deaths and injuries by 25%.

Since then, we’ve installed more than 2.1 million free smoke alarms, reached more than 1.6 million children with preparedness programs and made nearly 900,000 households safer with safety education. Most importantly, we’ve documented more than 800 lives saved.

Please do your part, for your family and your community: Make a plan, check your smoke alarms. Visit soundthealarm.org for more information or to get involved.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer

Advice from Mansfield mother after smoke alarm saves her children’s lives

Posted on January 8, 2020 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

The Red Cross responds, aids in the aftermath of devastating loss

By Jim McIntyre, Regional Communications Manager, American Red Cross

January 8, 2020 – December 6, 2019, was a big day in Mansfield, Ohio. The town was anticipating the big game, the Mansfield High School Tygers taking on Trotwood-Madison in the Division III High School Football Championship game. It would be the first appearance in a state championship game for a team from Richland County.

Classes in the Mansfield schools were cancelled in preparation for the game later that evening.

On Springmill Street, five children were home playing. Their mom, Nancy Hines-Adkins, had an appointment to keep, so she left her 14-year-old in charge. Mom wasn’t gone long before the shrill siren of a smoke alarm alerted the children to a fire.

Nancy Hines-Adkins, with children Samara and Sean standing behind her, and holding Brooklyn in her arms.

All five children escaped unharmed. One remembered mom’s instructions to run to the nearby fire station. But by the time firefighters were able to put water on the flames, everything inside the house was lost.

“The Red Cross has been very supportive,” said Nancy, two weeks after the fire occurred. “People call me from the Red Cross every single day to make sure me and my family are OK.”

The home on Springmill St. was gutted.

The family received immediate financial assistance, which was used to help them find lodging, food and clothing. Continuing care includes connecting the family to resources that can help them find another place to live.

Five days before Christmas, the children visited the Mansfield American Red Cross office on Smith Avenue to choose toys donated by employees of TravelCenters of America and the Red Cross.

Nancy knows that the help she received immediately after the fire was made possible only by the generous donations of the American public. “It’s very important for people who lose everything. In the blink of an eye everything is gone and they (the Red Cross) are there to help, so donate!”

She also has a vital message about smoke alarms: “They’re very important. Make sure you have them. It will save your life.”

Unfortunately for the Mansfield High Tygers, their quest for a state championship ended that night with an overtime loss. But Nancy is grateful that on that day, a smoke alarm alerted her children to the home fire, and that they escaped unharmed. They suffered a devastating loss of their home but no lives were lost.

Visit soundthealarm.org/neo to request smoke alarms for your home and to learn more about home fire safety. To make a donation to help families like Nancy’s, visit redcross.org/donate, or call 1-800-RED CROSS.

Visit our YouTube channel here to see a video featuring Nancy and her family.

Edited By Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer

More NEO Lives Saved After Smoke Alarms Sound

Posted on August 3, 2018 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

By Eilene Guy, American Red Cross volunteer

Volunteers from Mechanics Bank and the Mansfield Police Department with Red Cross workers on Richland County United Way Day of Caring, August 3, 2018.

MANSFIELD, Ohio – Two Mansfield residents owe their very lives to free smoke alarms from the American Red Cross.

The alarms – installed during the United Way of Richland County Day of Caring on Aug. 4, 2017 – did their job on Feb. 13 this year, when fire broke out in a mobile home and a mother and her daughter were able to escape safely.

“Having working smoke alarms is vital to the safety and security of the residents in a home,” said Lara Kiefer, executive director of the Lake Erie/Heartland Chapter of the Red Cross, which serves Richland and six other northcentral Ohio counties.

“Most people think they have up to 10 minutes to safely escape a home fire, but studies show it’s closer to two minutes,” she said. The vast majority of the disasters the Red Cross responds to are home fires and tragically, seven people die every day in this country from home fire-related injuries.

In 2014, the Red Cross launched the Home Fire Campaign, a nationwide initiative to reduce the number of fire related deaths by 25 percent. Since the start of the program, more than 460 lives have been saved, including 12 in the city of Lorain.

To learn more about the importance of having working smoke alarms on every level of your home, or to ask for a home fire safety inspection and smoke alarm installation, visit soundthealarm.org/neo.

2018 Richland Co Day of CaringI

Lake Erie/Heartland Chapter Executive Director Lara Kiefer and Executive Coordinator Christina Ennis with members of the Madison Township Fire Department

On Friday, August 3rd, Red Cross volunteers and other community partners, including Mechanics Bank, the Mansfield Police Department and the Madison Township Fire Department, joined volunteers from the United Way of Richland County in this year’s Day of Caring, installing smoke alarms and providing fire safety education to Mansfield residents.

“It’s gratifying to know that our partnership with the United Way of Richland County has had such a positive impact in our community,” Keifer said, referring to the lives saved in Mansfield earlier this year.

To learn more about the many volunteer opportunities within the Red Cross – from preventing and responding to disasters (such as home fires) to serving our armed forces to teaching first aid, babysitting or water safety skills – visit redcross.org/neo and click the volunteer tab.

CPR Instructor Honored for Saving a Life

Posted on November 4, 2016 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Red Cross Honors Instructor Who Used His Training at the Cuyahoga County Fair

Officer Jim Mikesina

Jim Mikesina is not a superhero. He did, however, scale a wall at the Cuyahoga County Fair this year to assist man who was in need of immediate medical attention.

Officer Mikesina was providing security at the fair in August when a worker suffered cardiac arrest. The fallen man was on a carnival ride platform, and Jim took the most direct route to get to him…by climbing a wall adjacent to the platform.

Fortunately for the fair worker, Jim is a certified American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED instructor, and administered CPR immediately. Coworkers estimate Jim applied chest compressions approximately 400 times before the emergency squad was able to get to get the victim into an ambulance.

The Cuyahoga County Agricultural Society recently honored Jim with a plaque, in recognition of his “Extraordinary lifesaving heroism in the line of duty.”

The Red Cross also recognized Jim with a Certificate of Appreciation, “For exerting extraordinary effort and utilizing your American Red Cross CPR training to alleviate the suffering of a fellow human being.”

Officer Jim Mikesina is congratulated by Mike Parks, CEO, Northeast Ohio Region

“Officer Mikesina went above and beyond the call of duty to reach the victim so swiftly,” said Mike Parks, CEO of the Northeast Ohio Region. “His determination and his Red Cross training certainly paid off, as he was able to save a life that day.”

First Aid/CPR/AED training is available throughout Northeast Ohio. Log onto redcross.org/neo and click “Training and Certification” at the top of the page to find a list of classes.

Who knows…maybe your instructor will be someone who has used his or her training to save a life, like officer James Mikesina did this year at the Cuyahoga County Fair.

NOHredcross

American Red Cross of Northern Ohio Region

Tag Archives: Lives Saved