Is That Your Christmas Tree On Fire?

Posted on December 7, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

By Doug Bardwell, American Red Cross Communications and Disaster Services Volunteer

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As popular as artificial trees are, almost everyone loves the smell of a real tree during the holiday season. But, to make sure your holiday memories are nothing but wonderful, take a couple minutes to make sure your tree doesn’t cause the unexpected.

Your lovely tree can turn deadly in just seconds

Don’t let it happen to you or your loved ones. Here are seven simple hints to keep in mind:

Choose a fresh tree that you cut yourself, if possible. If not, shake the tree aggressively before buying and don’t select one that drops its needles while shaking. That’s a sure sign that it’s drying out already.
If you didn’t cut the tree yourself, cut an additional two inches off the bottom of the tree to open its pores, so that it can absorb fresh water.
Use a sturdy stand to prevent tipping, and make sure that the stand can hold an adequate amount of water to keep the tree as fresh as possible. Make a scheduled time to add water every day.
Keep the tree at least three feet away from any ignition source, such as fireplaces, heaters, candles or high intensity lightbulbs.
Use only UL-rated light strings on your tree and no more than the manufacturer’s recommended number of sets plugged together. Discard any lights with worn or frayed cords.
Make sure the tree and cords do not extend into or across doorways or paths of egress.
Make sure your smoke alarms are working properly and always turn off any Christmas lights before going to bed each night.

Out of control in 20 seconds – you won’t believe the speed or intensity of this fire

Watch this one-minute video from the National Fire Prevention Association showing how quickly a spark or small fire can ignite your beautiful tree. In less than 20 seconds, you better be out of there. (You have discussed a family escape plan with your children haven’t you?)

As the video points out, a dry tree ignites faster than newspaper. Protect yourself this season and enjoy the happiest of holidays. If you need a smoke alarm installed in your home, visit this page to click on your county of residence to request a free home fire safety inspection and free smoke alarm installations in your home..

Neighborhood Now Safer in Slavic Village

Posted on October 17, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Firefighters, Volunteers Help Red Cross Install Smoke Alarms

More than 100 homes in the Cleveland neighborhood known as Slavic Village are now safer, following a home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event last Saturday, October 14.

Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli wrote the following message in an email the day after the event:

“Here is some info on the recent American Red Cross, Sound the Alarm and Save A Life event in Slavic Village on Saturday. Volunteers from the Red Cross including many from “Hope Worldwide” and including our local Cleveland Fire Department walked throughout our neighborhood knocking on doors and installing free smoke detectors as part of a Country Wide national installation event.

We want to thank Regional Disaster Officer Timothy O’Toole from the American Red Cross for coming into our community as part of the National “Sound the Alarm, Save a Life” program and installing hundreds of smoke detectors free for our families. Special thanks to all the volunteers from “Hope Worldwide” and our local firemen for making this event such a huge success. Timothy O’Toole (former Cleveland Fire Chief) asks for those not home that they can still call 216-361-5535 for a smoke detector.”

We thank Councilman Brancatelli for his support of Red Cross efforts to make neighborhoods safer, and we thank the Cleveland Fire Department for their ongoing partnership, which began in 1992 as Operation Save-A-Life.

Group Shot II

See more photos here, in our album on Flickr.

KeyBank Volunteers Help the Red Cross Make Homes Safer

Posted on October 13, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

About 60 homes in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood are now safer, after volunteers from KeyBank helped the American Red Cross and the Cleveland Fire Department distribute valuable fire safety information, including home escape plans on Saturday, October 7, 2017. They also helped install more than 150 smoke alarms.

“It’s been proven that working smoke alarms save lives,” said Don Kimble, KeyBank Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors for the Red Cross Greater Cleveland Chapter. “I’m grateful to our employees who helped make a neighborhood safer by installing smoke alarms in so many homes.”

The Sound the Alarm Home Fire Safety and Smoke Alarm Installation Event took place on the day before the start of National Fire Prevention Week. The Red Cross promotes fire prevention all year long, offering safety tips that can help make your home safer.

“There’s no better time to develop a fire safety plan for your family than this week,” said Mike Parks, Regional CEO, Red Cross of Northeast Ohio. “And working smoke alarms cut the risk of serious injury or death due to home fire in half.”

See our photo album of the event on Flickr. For more information on the Red Cross Home Fire Safety Campaign, visit our website at redcross.org/neo.

Still Writing Checks and Saving Lives

Posted on August 25, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Charitable Trust Continues to Fund Smoke Alarm Installations

In 1992, following a spate of fire fatalities, the American Red Cross of Greater Cleveland partnered with the Cleveland Division of Fire to install smoke alarms, free of charge to residents who lived in neighborhoods deemed to be at high risk for home fires.

The project was made possible then, and continues now, in part because of funding from the Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust. “25 years later, we’re still writing checks and saving lives,” said Chris Hitchcock, Executive Director of the Trust, adding, “And now it’s becoming a national program. That’s very exciting.”

Chief Angelo Calvillo, Tim O’Toole, and Chris Hitchcock

Chris joined Red Cross volunteers, members of the Westshore Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and the Cleveland Division of Fire on a Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event in the neighborhood in Cleveland where a woman and her 8-year old great-granddaughter died in July.

28 homes were made safer, as the volunteers and firefighters installed 85 smoke alarms and helped residents formulate escape plans.

The Cleveland Fire Department, which has an active presence on Twitter, broadcast a live interview on the Periscope app with Chris, Chief Angelo Calvillo, and Tim O’Toole, the Red Cross Regional Disaster Officer.

See more photos here, on our Flickr album.

Highlights from the NEO Region in FY 17

Posted on July 5, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

More than 15,000 smoke alarms installed. More than 31,000 residents enrolled in Preparedness, Health and Safety courses. More than 150,000 units of blood collected. Emergency services provided to more than 1,800 families of service men and women. More than $850,000 in financial assistance provided to more than 4,200 residents of Northeast Ohio since June 1, 2016.

These are some of the highlights of our fiscal year. They were shared with the Board of Directors of the Greater Cleveland Chapter during the annual meeting on Thursday, June 28, 2017. Many of the highlights were featured in a video shown during the meeting.

Laurie Laidlaw, Donna Rae Smith and Lorraine Frankino-Dodero were recognized as Red Cross Visionaries. Lorraine was also honored as Philanthropist of the Year, for the generous gift her family foundation recently made to help us purchase a new Emergency Response Vehicle.

Board Chairman Shawn Riley, Lorraine Frankino-Dodero and CEO Mike Parks

CEO Mike Parks recounted the response to a recent fire in Cleveland, which affected a family of 12, and introduced Gary Grano and Talib Zayed, the two Red Cross volunteers who provided assistance to the family.

The meeting ended with a call to action: to help the Red Cross install 100,000 smoke alarms in September and October, during the Sound the Alarm. Save a Life initiative. Everyone is invited to join us, by volunteering to Sound the Alarm, when we will install smoke alarms in the homes of residents in Cleveland and Akron. Or by providing financial support at redcross.org.

Partnership with VA, Vets Groups Makes 100+ Homes Safer

Posted on June 19, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

The heat couldn’t keep the Red Cross and some of its partners from installing smoke alarms throughout Northeast Ohio on Saturday, June 17, 2017.

The high temperature topped out at 93 degrees, as volunteers from the Northeast Ohio VA Healthcare System and members of several veterans groups helped install nearly 300 smoke alarms in homes in four separate cities simultaneously. The Operation Save-A-Life event was scheduled to occur during the same week as Flag Day, an observance that is held with reverence among many members of the military and veterans.

“Our Northeast Ohio VA employees are dedicated to serving those who serve day in and day out. Their dedication carries over to their time away from work as we join forces with the Red Cross to make our Veterans homes and those of their neighbors safer,” said Susan M. Fuehrer, Northeast Ohio VA Healthcare System Director.

Homeowners in Akron, Canton, Mansfield and Parma received home fire safety information as well as smoke alarms, installed at no cost to them.

“It was an extremely hot day, but through your hard work and commitment to your communities, we were able to make 103 homes in Northeast Ohio safer by installing 297 smoke alarms,” wrote Jessica Tischler, Director of Service to the Armed Forces for the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio, in a message to the volunteers.

“I can’t get over it, this is such a nice thing you all are doing,” said Sara Janasik of Parma, as smoke alarms were being installed in her Monmouth Road home.

The Flag Day event preceded another big push to prevent home fire deaths this fall. Sound the Alarm, a home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event will take place across the country, including Northeast Ohio during the weekends of September 23, September 30, October 7 and October 14, 2017. If you’d like to help us make homes safer, become a Red Cross volunteer. Call 216-431-3328 for more information about Sound the Alarm and all of the volunteer opportunities the Red Cross offers.

You can also help people affected by disasters like home fires by making a donation to support Red Cross disaster relief online. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the words RED CROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

Team Effort Makes Maple Heights Neighborhood Safer

Posted on April 24, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

More than 40 homes in Maple Heights are safer, after volunteers from several veteran-related service groups partnered with the Red Cross and the Maple Heights Fire Department to install smoke alarms and share fire safety information on Saturday, April 22.

Volunteers from The Mission Continues, Team Rubicon, and Team Red White and Blue went door-to-door in a neighborhood near Maple Heights High school to check existing smoke alarms, replace batteries, and install new smoke alarms where needed. They also shared valuable fire safety information.

The Mission Continues empowers veterans who are adjusting to life at home to find purpose through community impact. They deploy veterans on new missions in their communities, so that their actions will inspire future generations to serve. The Cleveland 1st Service Platoon was launched this month.

Maple Heights resident Mikoyan Headen receives fire safety information from Red Cross volunteer Bill Renninger of Team Rubicon

Mikoyan Headen is happy to have Red Cross fire safety information

Mikoyan Headen was grateful to have new smoke alarms installed in her home. She survived a home fire as a child. “Our house looked like burnt toast,” she said. “We lost everything and had to completely start over.”

Volunteers from another service group joined the Fire Safety Walk as well. Three members of “We’re Not Famous, But We Made It” also installed smoke alarms where needed. Volunteer James Davenport said, “Our members have hit bumps in the road along the way. We want to make sure we give back to the community.”

Dawud Hamzah, james Davenport and Amir Hassan of We’re Not Famous But We Made It.

It’s a perfect time to give back. This is National Volunteer Week (April 23-29) and the Red Cross offers many volunteer opportunities. Visit us at redcross.org/neo to begin the application process.

See more photos from the Fire Safety Walk in Maple Heights by visiting our Flickr page.

Smoke Alarm Goal Achieved: More Than 10,000 Installed So Far

Posted on March 10, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Mission accomplished.

For the second year in a row, the Northeast Ohio Region has reached the goal set for the number of smoke alarm installations in homes throughout our communities.

And there are still nearly four months to go before the close of the fiscal year, June 30th.

The goal was 10,000 smoke alarms. As of Monday, March 6, Red Cross workers, volunteers and community partners had installed more than 10,100. “While we continue to seek our own internal goal of exceeding our installation totals from last year (approximately 13,000) we still must take a moment to recognize all of the hard work that has gone into achieving the national target at this point in FY 2017,” Regional Disaster Officer Tim O’Toole wrote in a message to the Northeast Ohio staff. “As one of the smallest regions in the nation we still are among the leaders in this effort.

WJW Photographer Jim Pijor records John Gareis installing a smoke alarm

Fire Walk with CERT (Community Emergency Relations Team) in Parma OH

The annoncement couldn’t come at a better time: this weekend, we are urged to TEST our smoke alarms as we TURN our clocks ahead for Daylight Saving Time. It’s also a good time to take these steps to make sure our households are prepared for emergencies:

Install smoke alarms. If someone doesn’t have smoke alarms, they should install them. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Check local building codes for additional requirements.
Practice an escape plan. Make sure everyone in the household knows how to get out of every room and how to get out of the home in less than two minutes.
Get a kit. Keep disaster supplies in an easy-to-carry bag to use at home or if ordered to evacuate.
Make a plan. Have all household members plan what steps they should take if an emergency occurs.
Be informed. Learn what emergencies can occur in the area and how officials notify residents should a disaster occur.

The installation of smoke alarms is just one part of the Operation Save-A-Life campaign. Providing free home fire safety inspections and disseminating valuable fire safety information are also critical components. And volunteers perform the majority of the work involved in making our communities safer.

You can volunteer to help the red Cross make our communities safer at redcross.org/neo, where you can also apply for a home fire safety inspection and free smoke alarm installation.

The fiscal year ends on June 30th. We’ll let you know how many MORE smoke alarms our volunteers, staff and partners are able to install by then.

Stay tuned.

Operation Save-A-Life Lives Up to its Name, Again and Again

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

More Lives Saved Across the Country Thanks to Smoke Alarms, Education

159. That is the number of documented lives saved as of the close of 2016, thanks to the Home Fire Campaign, which the Red Cross rolled out nationwide in 2014.

The campaign is modeled after Operation Save-A-Life, which began as a partnership between the Cleveland Fire Department and the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the Red Cross in 1992.

The 25th anniversary of Operation Save-A Life will be recognized at the 2017 Red Cross Fire and Ice Ball, which takes place on March 25 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Cleveland.
Together with corporations, community groups and other partners, the Red Cross provides residents with valuable fire safety information and installs free smoke alarms in homes where they are needed. 32318085516_522639e1c2_z

“Thanks to the tireless work of our volunteers, employees, local fire departments, and other partners in the Home Fire Campaign, today we celebrate 159 documents lives saved,” said Harvey Johnson, Senior Vice President, Disaster Cycle Services.

Partners helping the Red Cross achieve its goal of reducing deaths and injury due to home fires by 25% range from the employees of Lincoln Electric to a group of missionaries from the Akron Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Eight elders of the church recently installed 60 alarms in the homes of people in need.

“The group is very dedicated, said Debbie Chitester, Disaster Program Manager for the Summit, Portage, and Medina Counties Chapter. “I have worked with missionaries on disaster operations across the country. They always come through for us and the people we serve.”

Your group can be a part of Operation Save-A-Life in Northeast Ohio by sponsoring a smoke alarm installation project. Log onto redcross.org/neoosal, and click on your county to register.

The smoke alarms you install could be the next ones that save a life.

Smoke Alarms Installed on MLK Day of Service

Posted on January 17, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Austintown, Boardman Residents Receive Fire Safety Information Along with Smoke Alarms

Among the many community groups taking part in the 2017 MLK Day of Service was the Red Cross. Volunteers from the Lake to River Chapter visited homes in Austintown and Boardman to distribute valuable information meant to keep families safe in the event of a home fire. They also installed smoke alarms where needed.

Four teams of volunteers fanned out to install more than 60 alarms in 27 homes. Their efforts were covered by WKBN.

Smoke alarms cut the risk of serious injury or death due to home fire in half. The Red Cross launched its Home Fire Campaign, know locally as Operation Save-A-Life, in 2014, with the goal of reducing the number of fire-related deaths by 25% over a fire year period.

So far, more than 130 lives across the country have been saved because residents were alerted to fire in their homes by smoke alarms.

If you are in need of smoke alarms in your home, log onto the Operation Save-A-Life page.

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Photo credit: Paul Wadowick/American Rede Cross volunteer

NOHredcross

American Red Cross of Northern Ohio Region

Tag Archives: Smoke Alarms