(CHICAGO, IL) April 25, 2018 – The American Red Cross is kicking off Sound the Alarm with a home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood as part of nationwide Red Cross effort to help reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by home fires.
Please join us for a press event featuring CEO Celena Roldán, Chicago Fire Commissioner José Santiago, Alderman Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward), Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) Rich Guidice and Asiaha Butler of R.A.G.E. (Resident Association of Greater Englewood). All will be speaking and available for interviews following the event. David Eigenberg, star of NBC’s “Chicago Fire” and current Chicago resident will also be featured at the event.
WHAT: The Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois is holding a Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event. Red Cross volunteers and local partners from the Chicago Fire Department will be canvassing neighborhoods, installing free smoke alarms and helping families create escape plans.
WHERE: Hamilton Park District, 513 W 72nd St, Englewood, Chicago
WHEN: Saturday, April 28, 9:00AM
WHO: Celena Roldán, CEO of the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois
José Santiago, Chicago Fire Commissioner
David Eigenberg, star of NBC’s “Chicago Fire”
Alderman Roderick Sawyer (6th)
Pamela Thomas-Hall, home fire victim
Rich Guidice, Managing Deputy Director, OEMC
The Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters a year, the majority of which are home fires. Home fires represent a significant threat to our communities, which is why the Red Cross launched the nationwide Home Fire Campaign and rallied an army of volunteers, donors, and partners to canvass high-risk neighborhoods, install free smoke alarms, replace batteries in existing alarms and help families create escape plans.
Nationwide, the Red Cross will Sound the Alarm through a series of smoke alarm installation and fire safety events in more than 100-high-risk communities. From April 28 through May 19, local Red Cross volunteers and partners will install free smoke alarms as part of 100,000 alarms installed across the country. These events are related to the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which since 2014 has helped save lives through smoke alarm installations and home fire safety education in thousands of communities.
Join this Red Cross effort today by volunteering to install smoke alarms in your community, making a financial contribution, or taking steps to protect your own family from home fires. The Chicago and Northern Illinois Red Cross is proud to have several corporate organizations supporting the Sound the Alarm program including: Grainger, the Motorola Solutions Foundation, Gallagher, Assurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Bank of America and CNA. Together, we can Sound the Alarm about fire safety and help save lives.
Donate to help Sound the Alarm. Save a Life.
Visit SoundTheAlarm.org to help families prepare, respond and recover from home fires. Your donation will help educate families on fire safety; install free smoke alarms in high-risk neighborhoods nationwide; and provide food, comfort and aid to those who have been affected by a home fire.
RED CROSS APPS People can download the all-inclusive Red Cross Emergency app which combines more than 35 emergency alerts to help keep the user safe. Users can find the apps in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.
About the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois:
The American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois serves 9.5 million people in 21 counties including Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Jo Daviess, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Whiteside, Will and Winnebago. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent 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 us at redcross.org/il/chicago or visit us on Twitter @ChicagoRedCross.