BOSTON (April 25) – American Red Cross volunteers from all over the state are teaming up with the local fire departments and partners for several large-scale, single-day smoke alarm installation and fire safety education event known as “Sound the Alarm”. The goal of the event is to install free smoke alarms as well as provide safety education and help residents prepare an evacuation plan.

The Red Cross has confirmed, alarms installed in Dorchester during last year’s Boston Sound the Alarm event (April 2023) went off during a fire in July 2023. All three people who were in the home at the time of the fire heard the alarm and were able to escape without injury. The volunteers who installed the alarm will be back for this year’s event and available for media interviews.

“Most people don’t realize, you have just two minutes to escape a home fire,” said Holly Grant, CEO of the Red Cross of Massachusetts. “That’s why this event is such an important part of preparedness. But after a fire, the Red Cross is there too, working to connect families with vital services like emergency lodging, financial assistance and emotional support.”

In the last seven days, the Red Cross of Massachusetts has responded on-scene to 18 home fires around Massachusetts and responds to an average of 2 per day year-round. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death in a home fire in half. In addition to Boston’s Sound the Alarm event on Saturday April 27, the Red Cross will be holding Sound the Alarm events in Haverhill and Plymouth on May 4 and Worcester and West Springfield on May 11.

The Red Cross is grateful to statewide Sound the Alarm sponsor National Grid for its continuous support of this lifesaving program.

“National Grid is dedicated to safety and positively impacting the customers and communities we serve,” said Lisa Wieland, President, National Grid New England. “By partnering with the American Red Cross to install smoke alarms we are helping prevent fires and serious injuries and making homes safer across Massachusetts.”

During smoke alarm installations, volunteers will also share information on the causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan.

There is no cost for this service - but we do ask that interested residents make an appointment in advance by calling 1-800-564-1234 or visiting soundthealarm.org/MA. The Red Cross is also seeking volunteers to join the year-round Home Fire Campaign.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/MA or CruzRojaAmericana.org. Follow us on social media: Red Cross of Massachusetts on Facebook and LinkedIn, @RedCrossMA on Twitter, @AmericanRedCross on Instagram and TikTok.